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Tottenham's deflating end to the season continued on Saturday evening when the Lilywhites were unable to overcome Blackpool at White Hart Lane. The draw all but denies Spurs the chance of finishing fourth with Manchester City holding a six point lead, despite losing at Everton on Saturday afternoon. This should have been a Champions League qualification shootout but it will simply boil down to pride.

Spurs will be without Player of the Year Gareth Bale after he suffered an ankle injury against Blackpool. Perhaps of more significance to Spurs are doubts surrounding the fitness of Luka Modric and Peter Crouch. The former is the heartbeat of the team, the latter the hero when Spurs famously beat City in the fixture last year.
Carlos Tevez could return for City but Roberto Mancini can otherwise name an almost full strength XI.

Match Odds - Man City 2.02, Spurs 4.4, The Draw 3.55
For Tottenham this effectively comes down to pride - do they show City that they will fight on, at least as a message for 2011/12, or do they go out meekly?

City do not need to win. A draw would virtually guarantee them fourth place while Saturday's FA Cup final will surely be playing on a few players' minds.

Tottenham's woes this season have come down to an inability to finish off the lesser lights of the Premier League whereas they are usually competitive against the big boys. Encouragingly they are unbeaten in five against their hosts. Those factors make City a cautious lay for me at 2.0, though Spurs' recent form is a worry.

Over/under 2.5 goals
With both options trading around evens I'm all over the overs! City have shed their defensive solidity while Tottenham never found theirs. There are many themes running through this match and I can see it developing into an end-to-end battle as these two big clubs attempt to lay down a marker for next year.

To Score
With the Spurs frontline ineffectual this year and Tevez likely to be feeling his way back in, goals should come from the midfield. Two characters stand out as likely scorers - Yaya Toure and Rafael Van der Vaart. The former is City's joint second-highest scorer with a couple in the last five matches and should be backed around the 4.5 mark. The latter is Tottenham's chief creative force and if trading above 3.5 is worth a bet.

Recommended Bets
Lay Manchester City @ 2.02
Back Over 2.5 goals @ 2.0

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