Tottenham vs. Manchester City: Emmanuel Adebayor Will Be Missing Link for Spurs

Sunday sees a huge Premier League clash between two of the main title contenders that will have a huge effect on who lifts the trophy.

Also, later that same day, Arsenal host Manchester United.

For it is the lunchtime clash at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City host Tottenham Hotspur, that is the biggest match of the day. While defending champions United travel to face a Gunners side scrapping it out for a Champions League place, City versus Spurs is a battle between first and third in the table. 

It is also a game which pits arguably the two best teams to watch in this season's Premier League against one another. Both outfits have been serial underachievers in recent times, but now both their stars are in the ascendant thanks to skillful management and plenty of financial backing.

The reverse fixture for both of Sunday's games were played on August 28, when City pummelled Spurs 5-1 at White Hart Lane and United ruthlessly dismantled Arsenal with a jaw-dropping 8-2 victory at Old Trafford. Since that balmy summer day almost five months ago, a lot has changed.

City and United have both been eliminated from the Champions League while Arsenal have to some extent recovered from their early season malaise and have climbed back into the top six.

But the most noteworthy shift in fortunes has been that of Spurs. Since losing their opening two games of the season—to United and City—the North London side have won 14 and lost just one of their subsequent 19 matches. That form has seen them rocket up the table to their current third place. 

While the well-cultivated pessimism in N17 means that most fans of the Lilywhites are still looking down the standings nervously at fourth-placed Chelsea—who lie six points behind them—their status as outside contenders for the title in the eyes of many remains.

Central to the remarkable form of Harry Redknapp's team has been the loan signing of Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo striker has started every single one of Tottenham's 19 league games since those back-to-back losses to the Manchester clubs. Since scoring on his debut at Wolves he has netted nine league goals and set up a further six for his new team. Only Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney have registered more shots on target than Adebayor's 34 so far this season (45 and 38 respectively).

The 27-year-old has wasted little time in striking up prodigious partnerships with Rafael van der Vaart and, in particular, Gareth Bale. The dance routine Adebayor busts with the Welsh winger whenever either of them scores may be of questionable quality, but it shows how quickly the centre forward has ingratiated himself to his new teammates.

The problem for Spurs this weekend is that they will not be able to call upon the services of their target man. Adebayor is on loan from City, and is therefore ineligible to play against his parent club.

City manager Roberto Mancini may well be relieved to know he will not be facing the player he froze out at the start of the season. Even though he was not at the club at the time, the Italian boss will surely be aware of how revenge can motivate the player he marginalised.

When Adebayor played against Arsenal for the first time since leaving them for City in 2009 he scored against them. He then celebrated that goal by running the full length of the pitch to taunt the fans who had poured scorn upon him during his final days at the club when it was clear he wanted to be elsewhere.

The more pressing concern for Mancini, however, will be the key absentees. His captain and defensive lynchpin Vincent Kompany is suspended while the Toure brothers, midfielder Yaya and defender Kolo, are on international duty with the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations. Without that trio, City have lost to United in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the Carling Cup, while they only managed to scrape a 1-0 win at the Premier League's bottom club Wigan Athletic last time out.

Redknapp now has a big decision to make as he plots how best to exploit and extend City's poorest run of form this season, preferably by inflicting a first league defeat for them at the Etihad this season. Does he persist with the same system by fielding the talented but enigmatic Roman Pavlyuchenko, who has played less than two matches worth of game time in the league this season due to Adebayor's presence? Or should he start with Jermain Defoe, the serial goal poacher who has seven league goals to his name but whose inclusion would necessitate a tactical reshuffle in an otherwise settled side? 

Whichever option Redknapp goes for, it is difficult to make the case that Spurs would not be stronger with Adebayor in the side.

Before August's 5-1 and the 1-0 win last May which helped City confirm their place in the Champions League ahead of Spurs, Tottenham had won 11 of their previous 13 league meetings with City. The dynamic between these two sides may have shifted somewhat, but together they are instigating a change in the balance of power at the top of the table. 

That Sunday's fixture looks set to carry plenty of sway in the final reckoning speaks volumes for how far both have progressed.