Man City play host to Tottenham tonight knowing a victory would guarantee them a minimum fourth-place finish and clinch that much sought-after Champions League spot. Roberto Mancini has something of a dilemma, though; with an FA Cup Final against Stoke this weekend, does he choose to rest or rotate any key players for this crucial Eastlands showdown?
Form
City’s form on the road has been patchy since late December, but at home they have been formidable; the last eight games at Eastlands have harvested seven wins and one draw. City have averaged 2.6 goals per game, scoring 21, conceding just 5 and chalking up 5 Clean Sheets in this run.
After a brilliant start to the campaign, Spurs have failed to maintain their early promise and, over the last couple of months, have stuttered badly. The omens don’t look too kind for Harry Redknapp’s side; they’ve taken just two points from their last four away games, with a mere one win in the last nine league games overall. Spurs do tend to find the net on their travels, though; only three times have they failed to score in an away game this season.
Team News
Reports suggest City may welcome back Carlos Tevez tonight; the Argentine has been sidelined with a hamstring injury the last few weeks and may be set for a substitute appearance. Like Tevez, Micah Richards hopes to return this evening after a hamstring setback while Gareth Barry should recover from a minor problem to start. Edin Dzeko led the line against Everton to little success, with Mario Balotelli looking likely to replace the Bosnian up front.
Spurs, on the other hand, don’t have their injury problems to seek. Gareth Bale is out for the season after rupturing ankle ligaments in the weekend home draw with Blackpool, regular full-backs Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Vedran Corluka both have hamstring problems, while Tom Huddlestone has an ankle problem. Both Luka Modric and Peter Crouch may miss the Eastlands trip after picking up hip and back injuries in the aftermath of the Blackpool game. A big selection dilemma for Harry Redknapp, then.
Key Men
Missing just one league game all season, Vincent Kompany has been a rock at the back for City, his displays fundamental in their 15 clean sheets so far. With 2.6 Tackles, 2.4 Interceptions and a fantastic 8.9 Clearances per game, he is City’s third top player in the ratings, behind only Tevez and Silva.
Nigel De Jong is a real unsung hero in this star-filled team; his role in front of the City back four is perhaps unglamorous, but the Dutchman’s efficiency doesn’t go un-noticed in our ratings. He makes 3 Successful Tackles and 2.7 Interceptions per game, and has the highest Pass Accuracy of the squad, with 90%, breaking up attacks time and again, giving the ball to others to take the game to the opposition.
City’s chief creative spark, David Silva has been a joy to watch this season. A look at his performance in the last home game against West Ham shows just how integral he is to City’s game; Silva had 100 Touches, 87% Pass Accuracy, 3 Dribbles and 1 Shot in the win over Avram Grant‘s side.
The attacking midfielder has license to roam in Mancini’s 4-2-3-1 formation, he makes the most Key Passes 2.13 per game of any City player, has the most assists (7) and with a fantastic 87% Pass Accuracy, there’s no surprise he’s the second-rated City player, with 7.17 per game.
Spurs have been poor at the back this season, picking up just two clean sheets in the last eleven. Crucial to their chances will be the performance of Michael Dawson in the heart of defence. Dawson’s reading of the game sees him average a brilliant 11 Clearances per game, a reason why his 2 Tackles and 2.1 Interceptions aren’t perhaps as high as other centre-halves. A rating of 6.96 sees Dawson the highest-rated Spurs first-team defender.
If available, Croatian playmaker Luka Modric will be essential to Spurs’ chances tonight. He was Man of the Match at the weekend against Blackpool and it’s little wonder; Modric had 111 Touches, a 92% Pass Accuracy, 5 Successful Dribbles and 1 Shot in a quite brilliant display. He’s only scored 2 Goals and made 2 Assists but Modric sees so much of the ball, he consistently scores high from game to game and is second only to Rafael Van der Vaart in our rankings for Spurs.
One of the signings of the season, Rafael Van der Vaart is top scorer and has more assists for Spurs than any other player, with 12 and 8 respectively. No surprise he averages more Shots per goal 2.8 than any Spurs player (the combined contribution of Crouch and Pavlyuchenko is 2.9 Shots per game, an indication of how poor the forwards have been). His 2.5 Key Passes stand testament to his creative talents, with Van der Vaart’s 7.50 per game rating head and shoulders above any of his team mates.
