Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Football: England, Premier League
Wednesday 5th May 2010 - Kickoff 8pm

---

So the race for 4th place - and the final Champions League spot for 2010/11 that would be vital for the development of both clubs - comes down to a head-to-head face off on the final week of the season.

Spurs will claim 4th spot with a win, stay in the box-seat with a draw, while Manchester City need to win here at home to snatch the advantage in the race for the European prize.

Manchester City (5th) Home : 12-4-2 40:12

Manchester City have played through a pretty tough fixture list recently, facing Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa, and in picking up four points from those three matches Cit-eh have done just enough to keep themselves in the hunt.

It's a fortunate occurance for City that this fixture falls where it does, with the home advantage at Eastlands likely to play a vital part in determining the result in this match.

Evern though Manchester City's recent home for is not spectacular (3-1-2), the results during the season have been very, very good, and when City do fire at Eastlands then more often than not the goals do flow - with City scoring three or more goals in 8 of 18 home games this season.

Manchester City Team News :
Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry is set to return after recovering from a hamstring injury. A hamstring injury has ended Joleon Lescott's season while Marton Fulop again replaces Shay Given in goal.

Injured : M Johnson (knee), Petrov (knee), Given (shoulder), Gonzalez (groin), Lescott (hamstring)

Tottenham Hotspur (4th) Away : 6-5-6 24:25

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have put in a superb effort over the last 6-7 games, to rescue a European situation that looked to be getting away after a run of shaky results.

Spurs beat both Arsenal and Chelsea at White Hart Lane to keep their noses in front in the race for 4th spot, and edged out Bolton 1-0 on Saturday despite a few nerves.

However, it is significant that the positive results have come at home, where Tottenham have won 14 of 19, because away from the comfort of White Hart Lane, Spurs have found it tough to win with just six wins.

True - Stoke City and Wigan have been beaten in the last six weeks on the road, but it's recent losses at Sunderland (1-3) and Wolves (0-1) that look to have been very significant.

Tottenham Hotspur Team News :
Tottenham also have goalkeeper worries with Heurelho Gomes facing a fitness test on his groin problem. Manager Harry Redknapp will once again make a late decision on central defender Ledley King.

Injured : Corluka (ankle), Kranjcar (ankle), Cudicini (broken wrists), Woodgate (groin)

Doubtful : Gomes (groin), King (knee)

Head to Head

IN an evening where mind games might play a part, this statistic should be one the Spurs manager Harry Redknapp plays up to his team.

Spurs have won 4 of the last six games here, and drawn another one, while Tottenham have been totally dominant against Manchester City in London - winning the last six reverse fixtures on the trot.

So that's a 10-1-1 head-to-head advantage for Tottenham in the last six seasons ..

The Betting Verdict

But, this is not a normal season, and this is not a normal Manchester City side. There is little doubt that the light Blue half of Manchester are as strong as anyone has seen the club in the last 35 years.

This is a big game, and so it probably pays to take a quick look at the big game match-ups this season and see how the respective sides have managed against the other clubs chasing European qualification - when taking the venue into account.

This season Man City have beaten Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa here, drawn with Liverpool, and lost to Man United. (HOME : 3-1-1)

In comparison, Spurs have lost to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United on the road all by a margin of 2 or 3 goals, and drawn 1-1 at Aston Villa. (AWAY : 0-1-4)

IF this game was at the Lane then I'd have Spurs as favourites, but it's not, it's at Eastlands, and I think that Manchester City will win and take a giant step towards 4th place ...

(although the season might still have one final twist on the final day)

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Manchester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotpsur

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Manchester City 60% - Draw 24% - Tottenham 16%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take MANCHESTER CITY to win at a better than fair price.