While the fight for survival from relegation has ended and the title almost entirely in the hands of Chelsea all heads turn to the Eastlands for Wednesday’s exciting match between Tottenham and Manchester City. The 4th best defense in the Premier League, Tottenham, faces the 4th best offensive team, Manchester City as they fight till the death for 4th place and a chance to play in Champions League football next year. Neither team has finished in the top 4 since the Premier League began back in 1992 and a win will put them in pole position to play in the Champions League next year. Heading into Wednesday’s match both teams have suffered injury woes to their keepers with Shay Given out with a shoulder injury and Heurelho Gomes doubtful after suffering a late groin injury in their 1-0 win over Bolton. City have been rescued with the services of Márton Fülöp on loan from Sunderland whilst Tottenham have Carlo Cudicini on the bench who’ll be ready to fill in for the injured Brazilian.

The last time these two sides met Tottenham were able to beat City 3-0, but three days later Mark Hughes was sacked and the current Italian manager, Roberto Mancini, came to fill in. Since the last game in December Manchester City has significantly changed it’s lineup with Kolo Toure, Nigel De Jong, Adebayor and Tevez the only familiar faces from the teams last encounter. While Tottenham haven’t really changed their roster much this year they have had a few injury woes that have held them back over the past few weeks. Their strength rests in the depth of their roster, boasting a skillful bench with the likes of Aaron Lennon and a handful of other quality midfielders and strikers who are game changing performers. Manchester City’s most experienced player, Patrick Vieira, hasn’t been the best in the midfield but showed some promise last week in his performance against Aston Villa. He’ll be hoping to keep this up and even perform better against his old rivals Tottenham.

Tottenham have had a poor away record this year only beating teams like Hull, West Ham, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Wigan and Stoke. With 6 losses and 5 draws away Tottenham will be put to the test as they face a City side that has only lost at home to Manchester United and Everton this entire season. However Tottenham are boasting the 4th best defense in the league with only 37 goals conceded, 6 less than City. Manchester City on the other hand come into Wednesday’s match with 72 goals scored this season while Tottenham have scored 64. With the recent performances of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric the Hotspurs have much to hope for as they try tilting the balance in their 6-5-6 away record. The real pressure is now on Manchester City as a tie would force them to rely on Burnley to defeat the Hotspurs, so only a win will suffice the money strapped club at the Eastlands.

The match kicks off on Wednesday at 12:00 PST so make sure you watch this thriller as the seasons story reaches it’s climax. Read some of our other articles and be sure to check for live updates of the match on twitter and facebook. You can also watch the match live on my favorite streaming site, atdhe!

-Ahmed Ahmed