With Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal seemingly immovable in the Premier League’s top four during the second half of the 2000s, only one place was up for grabs each year.
Across 2009/10 and 2010/11, that came down to a battle between City and Tottenham Hotspur.
What followed was a mini-rivalry between two clubs seeking to take their seat amongst the continent’s elite.
And as is often its wont, the fixture computer did its best to maximise the drama.
Spurs would visit the Etihad Stadium in the final weeks of both seasons, with the Champions League and everything that promises for the future still on the line.
Even so, few could have predicted what was to come.
The winner of each tie would earn the Champions League slot that term, with only one goal in each game.
That’s not yet the most striking aspect though, with Peter Crouch scoring the winner in both games – first for Spurs and second into his own net to City’s advantage.
Even more bizarrely, Crouch was effectively stood in the exact same spot for both decisive touches.
While this fixture has thrown up many classics down the years across all competitions, it’s perhaps the juxtaposed emotions following those two clashes that typify the fine margins between glory and glorious failure more than any other.
Ahead of this weekend’s meeting and Thomas Frank’s first Etihad visit as Spurs boss, we take a look back at two seasons when our home ties with Spurs defined the campaign.
Roberto Mancini, a serial winner as a player and manager, had arrived in December 2009 to add a steely mentality to a talented but draw-prone squad.
A 3-0 defeat at White Hart Lane in December had been his predecessor Mark Hughes’ penultimate game and, at that point, few would have expected City to have been involved in the Champions League race that term.
That was one point behind Harry Redknapp’s free-flowing Spurs side, who had the likes of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale catching the eye.
A League Cup semi-final earlier in the campaign had given City the taste of the bigger occasions that had eluded us for generations, but ultimately the defeat to Manchester United left City fans praying for
Ahead of the final weekend, City and Spurs would meet in a midweek rearranged fixture at the Etihad that felt like a unique play-off.
For the Blues, preparation had been less than perfect, with first-choice goalkeeper Shay Given forced off through injury in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal less than two weeks prior.
Mancini acted quickly to bring in emergency backup, with Sunderland’s Marton Fulop parachuted in for three games to help us over the line.
Fulop was a highly experienced international in his own right, but to come from the bench at a league rival into the heat of a dramatic head-to-head battle would take some mettle.
On the night, City lined up in the attacking 4-4-2 formation that had been Mancini’s go-to since his arrival.
While Spurs were many people’s favourites before kick-off, the game played out almost as evenly as the season had gone to that point.
The sides could not be split on possession or attempts at goal, with City having two more corners than our visitors.
However, the decisive, heartbreaking moment came less than 10 minutes from the end as Crouch reacted quickest to a Fulop parry from a deflected Younes Kaboul cross.
With the Hungarian goalkeeper on the floor and Vincent Kompany just too far away to impact it, Crouch nodded the ball high into the goal and wheeled away to celebrate with the pocket of Spurs supporters.
Still very early into the project following our 2008 takeover, it felt like a crushing blow.
Mancini’s first full season at the Etihad would involved Europa League football, rather than the promised land of the Champions League.
Spurs celebrated long into the night at the Etihad, with famous scenes involving substitute David Bentley tipping a bucket of icy water over Redknapp’s head during the manager’s post-match interview.
Ironically, the new season started with City on the road at Spurs and a key decision for Mancini.
In goal, would he opt for experienced Premier League favourite Shay Given or shining prospect Joe Hart after a stellar year on loan at Birmingham City?
Hart got the nod and it was an inspired selection, with the young England hopeful putting in one of the performances of a lifetime to keep the scores 0-0 in north London.
Where all-out attack had been our default option in the previous season, defence was the backbone of our Champions League and FA Cup challenges that term.
We would concede just 33 goals in the Premier League, with the last of them coming four games before the end of the season.
Where the decisive clash between City and Spurs in 2010/11 was the second-to-last, this time Redknapp’s side would be in Manchester three games out from the end.
And City were in the driving seat now.
In truth, Spurs came knowing a victory was necessary to keep their Champions League hopes alive again.
This time around, we surrendered more possession and shots to the side despite their 4-5-1 setup.
But with Hart in goal, City had one of the Premier League’s outstanding performers.
The goal also arrived a lot earlier on this year, but it must have been a horrific moment for Crouch – who must have wanted the ground where he’d made such a mark 370 days prior to swallow him up.
The tension came as the second half wore on and Spurs pushed harder and harder for the equaliser but to no avail.
That only made the outburst of relief come the final whistle all the more sensational around the Etihad Stadium as we celebrated reaching Europe’s main stage.
It was backed up at Wembley only a few days later with the FA Cup final victory over Stoke City that sealed a truly transformative week in our history.
Despite the outpouring of emotion at that point, few could have predicted what would follow.
City have since qualified for every single edition of the Champions League and lifted an astonishing 24 major honours.
As Pep Guardiola prepares himself for the challenge of a modern-day Spurs who are themselves celebrating being in the Champions League this season, it shouldn’t be forgotten the role this mini-rivalry played on our journey to where we are now.