All things considered this isn’t the time for Tottenham to start stuttering when so much is at stake. One win in seven games has seen Spurs crash out of Europe and fall behind Arsenal and Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification. It’s been a struggle for Andre Villas-Boas in recent weeks with several of his key players, Gareth Bale in particular, struggling with injuries and fitness. They’ve missed out a seat at Europe’s top table for the last two seasons and to fail for a third time would be a crippling blow. This is a real test for Villas-Boas to get through but with Bale back in the squad there is hope.
Just above them in the table Manchester City’s grip on the Premier League trophy continues to loosen with time running out. The reigning champions shredded the gap between them and leaders Manchester United to 13 points in midweek but with only six games left to play the title is slowly but surely slipping away. In fact if Roberto Mancini’s side fail to win at White Hart Lane on Sunday then United can wrap it all up 24 hours later when they host struggling Aston Villa. It would be interesting to see what that does for Mancini’s job prospects in the summer after a feeble defence of their top-flight crown. The feeling is that he won’t be at the Etihad Stadium come next season.
Team News Gareth Bale has given Tottenham a huge boost by returning to the squad but manager Andre Villas-Boas must now decide how to use him against Manchester City. Aaron Lennon is also hoping to be back after recovering from a knee injury. David Silva and Sergio Agüero are major doubts for Manchester City but Micah Richards, Maicon (knee) and midfielder Jack Rodwell (hamstring) are available.
What the managers said…
“Yes, but we also have everything in our hands with this game in favour. We have had one game more during the last two or three months. Now it is up to us to do our job with the game in hand we have against Chelsea. Arsenal have probably the easiest run-in, although they play Manchester United at home.” Andre Villas-Boas admits Arsenal are favourites to qualify for the Champions League (Independent)
“We worked really hard because Wigan played really well and every game we play against them is difficult because they play football and they like to win every game. I don’t think we played very well because we were so tired. Only in the last 20-25 minutes we played better. They played very well, they don’t deserve to be relegated.” Roberto Mancini concedes his tired team weren’t good enough against Wigan on Wednesday (Daily Mail)
Pre-match Statistic: Edin Dzeko enjoys playing against Tottenham having scored five Premier League goals against the North London side including four on his last visit to White Hart Lane.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Manchester City
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