Bent has suddenly become a goal machine as he scored twice to follow up his hat-trick on Thursday in the UEFA Cup to take his season's total to 11.
The victory enabled Spurs to extend their unbeaten run to five games since Harry Redknapp became manager and they have collected ten points from a possible 12 in the league.
However, City's recent slide down the table continued and they have now collected only four points from a possible 21, something which will surely be high on the agenda when manager Mark Hughes travels to Abu Dhabi this week to see the club's new mega-rich owners.
City's cause against Spurs wasn't helped by having to play for over an hour with ten men after Gelson Fernandes was dismissed. They eventually finished the match with nine men after captain Richard Dunne was sent off seven minutes from time.
The afternoon had begun brightly for City after Robinho had given them a 16th-minute lead when Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes could only parry an angled drive from Darius Vassell. It was the Brazilian's eighth goal of the season.
However, the balance of power shifted the way of Spurs when Fernandes was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes, both for late challenges on Luka Modric.
Spurs were on level terms within three minutes when Dunne failed to clear Modric's throughball, enabling Bent to race clear and score with a clinical strike.
Hughes re-organised his side after half-an-hour, withdrawing Vassell and replacing him with Dietmar Hamann to strengthen the centre of midfield following Fernandes' dismissal.
City held Spurs at bay until midway through the second half when Bent struck again with an angled drive which flew in off the far upright after he had been released by Jermaine Jenas.
City didn't go down without a fight and Spurs were indebted to under-fire keeper Gomes for their victory as he pulled off two super saves to deny Robinho and Stephen Ireland.
But any hope the home side had of forcing an equaliser were extinguished by Dunne's 83rd-minute dismissal, although Spurs were reduced to ten men in the final minute when Benoit Assou-Ekotto picked up his second booking of the game.