? Manchester City v Stoke City league game moved to 17 May
? Spurs believe City could gain an advantage in race for fourth
Tottenham Hotspur will lobby the Premier League over the rescheduling of the Manchester City against Stoke City league fixture, amid fears of a potential carve-up of the result to influence European qualification. The two clubs were due to met at Eastlands on FA Cup final weekend but their participation in the showpiece has forced a rethink and the game is now set for Tuesday 17 May, in the final week of the domestic season.
Yet Tottenham are concerned that this could hand City an advantage in the fight for a fourth-place finish. If Stoke were to lose the FA Cup final at Wembley on 14 May, they could still qualify for next season's Europa League if City were to finish fourth in the Premier League. That would see City make the Champions League and mean that they would not need the FA Cup's Europa League place, which would go to Stoke.
However, if City were to win the Cup but finish fifth in the league, they would take the Cup's Europa League place, ahead of Stoke and England's third Europa League berth would go to the sixth-placed league finisher. Tottenham worry that if City won the Cup, it might be in Stoke's interests to lose at Eastlands, as it could improve their own chances of making Europe, and they would like to see the fixture rearranged to before the FA Cup final to remove any element of suspicion.
The Premier League, though, feels that would cast unfair aspersions on Stoke, whose integrity it does not doubt. The League have rules in place that deal with the selection of weakened teams and they would bring them into force if that became an issue.
City's victory over their neighbours Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final and the potential for a Europa League spot to go to sixth place in the Premier League has rekindled the European hopes of Liverpool, Everton and Bolton Wanderers. The situation adds a layer of intrigue to more than just the City v Stoke end-of-season fixture.
Liverpool face Tottenham at Anfield on 15 May, a match where, paradoxically, defeat could potentially improve their chances of earning a European place by helping Spurs into fourth, while City's trip to Everton on 7 May could carry an extra edge. City's final-day visit to Bolton Wanderers could also prove pivotal for both teams.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/apr/18/tottenham-hotspur-manchester-city
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