The FA will be hoping that the match official does not take centre stage on Saturday evening when Manchester City head to Wembley to face a Spurs side which will be hoping to inflict yet more misery on Pep Guardiola’s side.
A home win would see Spurs all but guarantee their place in the Champions League next season and inflict an unprecedented fourth straight defeat on City.
Should City fail Manchester United are likely to close the gap to 10 points with a win over hapless West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford on Sunday.
City cannot win the title at Wembley but know a win would put them within two points of doing so.
More importantly it would restore parity for the stand outside of the season.
Too much has been made of City’s last three games and while results have ultimately being disappointing, the performances have on the whole been good.
If City perform like they did against Everton or in the first half of the defeat to United and Liverpool (second leg) Spurs will find City tough to live with.
Of course, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be confident and have more than enough to hurt a fragile City side, but it is unlikely to be a walkover.
Guardiola’s charges have only one thing to focus on and that is getting across the line and make no mistake; he will want them to do it in style.
He may have envisaged a party atmosphere form the travelling support, lording their newfound status as champions over the Lilywhites whilst playing a second string. But it was not to be.
The key to the game may well be how Spurs deal with City’s style of play. In the first meeting of the sides at The Etihad in December Spurs attempted to close down City high up the pitch but found Ederson and co far too adept at beating the press to be able to cope.
That left City’s mesmerising front five to pick them off resulting in a heavy 4-1 defeat.
City will also not have forgotten some of the shocking challenges they faced from an angry Spurs side, with Dele Alli and Harry Kane both deserving of red cards that never came.
City need a pick me up but Wembley will be a tough place to get one.
