Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City: Preview

Updated: May 15, 2009, 3:07 PM UK

Aaron Lennon joins a lengthy list of Tottenham absentees for the Barclays Premier League clash against Manchester City after failing to recover from a groin injury.

Darren Bent and Michael Dawson are still out and Jamie O'Hara has undergone a knee operation. Wilson Palacios remains at home with his family in Honduras after the murder of his brother.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Didier Zokora are fit again and Ledley King will play after training on Friday for the first time since his arrest outside a nightclub last weekend.

Harry Redknapp has launched a passionate attack on the drinking culture among English footballers.

He revealed the club would be taking disciplinary action against King and said Tottenham were considering banning their players from nightclubs as he declared war on the boozers.

Redknapp would not specify what punishment King would face but it is thought he will be fined two weeks' wages.

Redknapp said: "Ledley made a mistake and we all make mistakes in life and he has to make sure he learns from it and makes sure it doesn't happen again.

"I've had a good chat with him and he's sorry for the way he behaved. He will be disciplined by the club.

"I have no problem with people having an occasional drink but if you have to get drunk you shouldn't be drinking. I don't want players going out to nightclubs, getting drunk and misbehaving.

"If you look at the problems they nearly all come when people get drunk. I don't understand it. They're so well paid, so well looked after. We've got fitness coaches, we've got sport scientists. These players are role models, they've got kids looking up to them. There is a big drink culture in this country. There's too much of it and I think footballers should set an example.

"I don't understand why they get drunk. You can't even get a slice of white bread in the canteen here. Everything here is geared up to healthy eating. What's the point if then they are going to drink 10 pints of lager. I don't see why they have to get on the booze, especially footballers.''

Redknapp, who earlier in the season had viewed playing in Europe as an unwelcome distraction, is now eager to qualify.

He said: "It's important, both for ourselves and Manchester City. Fulham are in the driving seat, with a two-point advantage and a better goal difference.

"But we've got it all to play for. To take it to the last game would be terrific for us.''

Shaun Wright-Phillips could be on the substitutes' bench as Manchester City look for a win that would keep them in the hunt for a Europa League spot.

The England star has struggled to overcome a knee injury that has kept him out for a month but he returned to training on Thursday and is set to play some part.

Robinho (groin) is definitely out, which could mean a starting berth for Martin Petrov.

Manager Mark Hughes is not convinced a failure to make next season's Europa League would have an adverse effect on City's summer recruitment campaign.

As he plots his next move in the transfer market, the first full summer he will have been able to utilise the wealth of the Abu Dhabi-based owners now bankrolling the club, he feels the promise his club can offer may outweigh any negativity over what competitions they are competing for.

"European qualification might not be as great as many would suppose in terms of attracting new players,'' he said.

"From a team development position, we would rather have it and I guess some players will think it is really important to still have the profile of European football if they change clubs.

"But there are other things we can present to players that are interesting in their own right.''

There have been sporadic moments of promise, including a three-goal defeat of Arsenal.

However, the ground that still has to be made up merely to cling onto Manchester United's coat-tails was emphasised in pretty stark terms at Old Trafford last weekend.

Throw in dismal domestic cup exits to lower league opposition in the form of Brighton and Nottingham Forest, plus the memory of spending Christmas Day in the bottom three thanks to defeat at West Brom, and it is little wonder Hughes would like to take something tangible out of the season.

"I have said for a number of weeks now that the game against Tottenham was likely to be the key one with regard to European qualification,'' he said. "My view has not changed.

"We are looking to win our last two games. If we can do that we would go close to that seventh position.''