Who Would Have Thunk It? Man City & Tottenham Playing for Champs League Spot

At the beginning of the 2009-10 English Premier League season, many fans expected both Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur to contend for a European berth. But, those same fans thought that it would be Europa League spot they would be fighting for.

That is not the case. Wednesday's match at the City of Manchester Stadium will decide who gets the big payday and a spot in the play-off round in the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League.

With Spurs one point ahead of City, it is a must-win game for both sides that have come a long way from the beginning of the 2008-09 season.

When Harry Redknapp took over Spurs on October 26 2008 his job was not to bring Spurs to the European stage, it was to keep Spurs above the drop zone after their horrendous start under Juande Ramos. Redknapp guided Spurs to eighth place, one spot just outside of European competition.

When Roberto Mancini took over City on December 19 2009 for Mark Hughes, City had drew eight of their last 10 league games and the highly talented club was being criticized for not performing as well as they should.

Since then, City has drawn only three times and lost only five in league play.

Tottenham has not won a road game since mid-March at Stoke; City have lost two games at home in that same time to top of the table opponents in Manchester United and Everton.

In their first Premier League meeting of the season at White Hart Lane, a Niko Kranjcar double and a goal from Jermain Defoe gave Spurs a 3-0 win in Mark Hughes' last match as City manager.

Could the same fate be that of Mancini if he does not win this match? Possibly, there are rumors of him leaving City if he does not deliver a Champions League spot.

Both teams face the pressure of taking a Champions League spot, and whoever wins this game will have a celebration worthy of cup win late Wednesday night.

But, if the match is a draw, Spurs will still be up by one point and would spark a few different situations in who gets the spot on Sunday.