Man City v Tottenham preview

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will make a late call on whether to choose skipper Carlos Tevez.

The South American was absent for the fourth game since injuring his hamstring at Liverpool when he missed Saturday’s defeat at Everton but Mancini wants Tevez to prove his fitness ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup final.

Gareth Barry is expected to be available after recovering from what Mancini described as “a minor problem” at the weekend, with City knowing victory will secure a place in next season’s Champions League qualifiers at worst.

Tottenham will be without several key players for the must-win game.

Gareth Bale (ankle), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (hamstring) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are out while there are doubts over Peter Crouch (back) and Luka Modric (hip).

Steven Pienaar could miss out with an ankle problem and Jonathan Woodgate (calf), Ledley King (groin), Wilson Palacios and Alan Hutton (both knee) are all unavailable.

Jermaine Jenas is also struggling to make the trip to Eastlands after suffering a thigh injury following Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Blackpool.

City (from): Hart, Given, Taylor, Richards, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Boyata, Wright-Phillips, Y Toure, De Jong, Vieira Milner, Barry, Johnson, Silva, Tevez, Dzeko, Balotelli, Jo, McGivern.

Spurs (from): Gomes, Cudicini, Pletikosa, Corluka, Bassong, Gallas, Dawson, Kaboul, Lennon, Kranjcar, Pienaar, Sandro, Modric, Jenas, Rose, Kranjcar, Van der Vaart, Defoe, Pavlyuchenko, Crouch.