Spurs preview

I have embarrassingly little to say about tomorrow night. So much is so obvious: that it is worth more than every other game we have played this season combined, that is resembles a cup final, that the future of the manager could well depend upon the result, etc etc etc. The one thing I will say is that victory- and Champions League football - would birth the true potential pregnant in the club ever since the takeover. I don't mean that the takeover has not been transformative - of course it has - but victory tomorrow is the difference between a repeat of last summer, that is, buying a surfeit of merely excellent players, and a whole new phase of transformation: truly world class players at Eastlands next year, the prestige of Champions League football, and the intoxicating scent of trophies in our nostrils.

So can we do it? Well there are omens for the optimists and omens for the pessimists. Spurs are in good form, we are in decent form. We have a good home record, Spurs are poor away at top half sides. Spurs have a great record at Eastlands, and won here last year. We bottle our biggest games, but Spurs have been known to do the same. Whatever you predict there's omens here for you. Take your pick.

I imagine the side will be the same that beat Villa. Gareth Barry has recovered from a knock but I'm not sure he's worth breaking up the Patrick Vieira/Nigel de Jong partnership for. We could play all three and drop a forward, but I'm not sure we will. It's a home game and a must win. Now is not the time for 4-5-1. Particularly against a side who play so well down the flanks.

If we do win people might even prematurely talk of the end of 'typical City.' Not me. The fact is that 'Cityitis' is important to me. And I'm not sure what I'd do were we ever cured of it. For now I intend to keep the flame alive. So in the tradition of this choking, bottling football club we all support I'm going to bottle making a prediction. See you on the other side.