Man City looks to cap off season with double delight

Manchester City has won two first division titles, so it may be an exaggeration to suggest this is the most important week in the club's history. Still, starting with today's match with Tottenham Hotspur (live, 2:30 p.m. E.T., FOX Soccer Channel), City may be embarking on the most memorable week in the club's 130-year history.

With a win over Spurs, City guarantees itself a top four finish (and the Champions League possibilities that come with it), a perfect precursor to Saturday's FA Cup final, where the Citizens will be favored to end a 35-year trophy drought. And while there's been plenty of speculation about how the Premier League-following world should react if the Red side of Manchester clinches their title on Saturday, an FA Cup triumph wrapped in Champions League qualification would allow City's supporters to forget their 'noisy neighbors,' if only for one day.

And should City's five day party start at Spurs' expense, don't expect Eastlands's faithful to overlook the irony. Last year - May 5, to be exact - Spurs visited the City of Manchester Stadium with fourth place on the line. Then, a 82nd minute goal from Peter Crouch proved the difference in both the match (1-0, Spurs) and table. Tottenham would finish three points ahead of City (with an inferior goal difference), making their first trip to Champions League. A Tuesday win over Spurs would not only return the favor, it would serve as an indisputable, black-and-white proof that Roberto Mancini continues to make progress toward Sheikh Mansour's goal: Making Manchester City into the world's premier club.

First things first: City needs to make top four, and to help the cause, Carlos Tevez is expected to return from an injury absence that's seen the talismanic Argentine sidelined since April 11. While the team's leading scorer (19 goals) nursed his hamstring back to health, City has had to rely on the likes of Yaya Toure, whose two goals in four matches helped augment City's inability to find a forward who can serve as the focal point of a Tevez-less attack.

Without that focal point, City is more opportunistic than dangerous. Yes, Toure's goal against Manchester United got the Citizens into the FA Cup final. And yes, Manchester City's been able to win three of four with their captain crocked, but the attack the Blues exhibited against Blackburn, West Ham and Everton won't be enough to beat Stoke City at Wembley. As has been the case since he was tempted from Old Trafford, Tevez is City's only reliable threat, and given Mancini was set to exclude Tevez on Saturday should he fail to play against Spurs, Citizens' supporters can breathe a sigh of relief.

If City's attack needs anything beyond Tevez to jump start its engine, Spurs' defense will help. In the eight matches Spurs have played since the beginning of April, Tottenham has allowed 15 goals, having failed to keep a clean sheet since their April 2 visit to Wigan. While names like Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal are responsible for much of that total, Spurs have also given up multiple goals to West Brom and Stoke City.

Spurs' April 9 meeting with Stoke City is significant for one other reason: It's the only time Tottenham's picked up full points since February 15. Then, a blistering counter-attack led by Aaron Lennon crafted a match-winning goal for Peter Crouch at the San Siro. Since, Spurs have gone 1-7-6, playing themselves out of Champions League - both this year's and next's.

Now Tottenham is staring at a 2010-11 season without any form of European football. Their ill-timed swoon has not only ceded Champions League to City, it's also allowed Liverpool to lay claim to the last Europa League spot. Should Spurs beat City on Tuesday, they'll regain fifth place and keep the thin flame of Champions League hope alive. Unfortunately, more than just poor form is portending Spurs' downfall.

PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale is out for the rest of the season, having suffered a ruptured ankle ligament Sunday against Blackpool. Other Spurs players expected to be unavailable: Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Tom Huddlestone, Alan Hutton, Ledley King, Wilson Palacios. Fortunately for Spurs, the drop-off between their first and second choices is not as steep as it would be at other clubs, which would be encouraging if either the first or second string looked capable of beating City.

Perhaps that's why Harry Redknapp's said his team needs a "miracle" if they're to return to the Champions League. A more realistic goal is the Europa League, given Sunday's showdown with Liverpool. Currently only two points behind the Reds (and set to make up their match in hand), Tottenham's match at Anfield will be make-or-break regardless of their result at Eastlands. And with the Citizens set to close their league campaign against Stoke and Bolton, only a colossal collapse will keep Manchester City from their first taste of the Champions League.

It's the kind of glory that's been a long time coming for City's supporters. Their last piece of silverware came in 1976, winning the League Cup. Though City won the second division in 2002, the last time the Citizens tasted first division glory was 1968. That season, the likes of Lee, Young, Bell and Summerbee made history. If City beats Spurs today, the names Toure, Kompany, Silva and Tevez could soon prove to be just as memorable.

Richard Farley is the editor of and contributing writer to FoxSoccer.com