The match was played between two of English football's more notable clubs, at a time when both were experiencing lengthy periods of relative mediocrity. Neither team had finished higher than seventh in the Premier League since its creation more than a decade earlier. Manchester City had won promotion back to the Premier League just two seasons earlier,having spent just one of the previous seven seasons in the Premier League, and spending one season in Division Two. Furthermore, neither team had reached the final of the FA Cup since Spurs won the competition in 1991, although Spurs had won the Football League Cup five seasons earlier. City's last major trophy was the League Cup in 1976.