Roberto Mancini’s men are almost certain of finishing in the top four, holding a six-point cushion over Spurs and seven over Liverpool with three games to go – the Fat Lady is definitely warbling.

By the time the game kicks off, Liverpool could have closed the gap to four points following their clash at Fulham on Monday night but City will seal their berth if they were to win on Tuesday.

Goal difference is also very much with City at the moment and with Spurs also having to travel to Anfield on Sunday, the pressure is very much on the visitors to go for the three points at Eastlands.

History is with Spurs (14/5 in the match betting) going into the match as they have won 19 Premier League matches against City with only Arsenal having won more, while they have won 11 of the last 13 in the top flight and six of their last seven in Manchester.

But City (10/11 favourites to take the three points) are a much different proposition this time around under Roberto Mancini, especially with the money that has been invested in the squad, and Spurs’ season is in very real danger of ending with a whimper.

The Blues have lost only twice at home since Spurs won this fixture almost a year ago – against Arsenal, when down to 10 men, and Everton – and will be difficult to break down with a defence set to be boosted by the return of Micah Richards and Gareth Barry, who have recovered from hamstring injuries.

Spurs, on the other hand, look set to be without potent threat Gareth Bale for the remainder of the season and are in a hugely disappointing run of form.

Harry Redknapp’s men, who have won six times on the road this season, have emerged victorious in  just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions, with six draws in the last eight games.

Rafael van der Vaart remains the club’s top scorer but his early, blistering form has tailed off while Heurelho Gomes is enduring the kind of run that would fill a blooper video all on its own.

City might have one eye on the FA Cup final against Stoke on Saturday but Mancini has made no secret of the fact Champions League football is the long-term aim of the club and is unlikely to let complacency slip in.

The Italian tactician is also likely to be conservative in his approach to the game as a point serves his club more than Spurs, so at 12/5 backing the draw is the best course of action to take.

A goalless affair is a bit of risk with the attacking talent available to both sides, but at 9/1 is certainly worth considering, depending on the team news – and the unpredictable nature of Gomes.

Carlos Tevez is set for a late fitness test to determine his availability for both this match and the Cup final – and has got to be looked at in the goalscoring markets (4/1 First/Last, Evens Anytime goalscorer) if he plays as he has scored more than Roman Pavlyuchenko, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch combined.

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Saturday’s goalless draw with the Blues was the third home game on the bounce that City have failed to score in, and the home faithful let their dissatisfaction be known as a chorus of boos rang out at full time.

City fans and football supporters in general have been stunned by the negativity of Mancini’s tactics this season, with Saturday’s result following on from the deadly dull Manchester derby on Wednesday night.

While City had a good go at Birmingham many inside Eastlands were left stupefied when, with minutes to go, Mancini took off the team’s top scorer Carlos Tevez and replaced him with a defensive midfielder in Gareth Barry.

After the game Mancini was forced to defend his tactics before being asked whether he thought his job might be on the line should results not start to improve quickly.

“I am frustrated because I wanted to win this game. I don’t want to draw or lose a game,” Mancini snapped.

“What pressure? For what? You continue to say that I am under pressure. I am not under pressure.”

Saturday’s result leaves City six points off Chelsea and that gap could increase to nine points should the Blues beat Sunderland.

City’s price has now drifted to 16/1 to win the league and while you would be wise to avoid that market it would still be a brave man who goes against them achieving their aim for the season – which is a top four finish and a spot in the Champions League (City 2/5 top four finish).

Another man who has come under increasing pressure after Saturday is Liverpool’s Roy Hodgson. He watched his side put in a pitiful display against Stoke as they lost 2-0 at the Britannia Stadium.

After such a good display against Chelsea last Sunday hopes were high that the Reds had got their season back on track.

However, it was back to the bad old days for Liverpool as goals from Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones left the Reds eight points off the top four and in fact closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places.

Hodgson’s bad night was compounded by Liverpool fans singing the name of Kenny Dalglish and it looks as though the former Fulham boss could be out on his backside should results not improve.

“I think we are trying to do the best job we can in the circumstances and I don’t know that that type of singing helps anyone,” said Hodgson.

“But I didn’t hear it and I am sure there are lots of fans who sympathise with us and what we are trying to do.”

Liverpool’s prospects for the rest of the season seem to be as tough to predict as the lottery numbers but while they are eight points off fourth place you wouldn’t back against them making a charge towards the upper echelons of the Premier League (Liverpool 10/11 top six finish).

While Hodgson refused to criticise his team after their poor performance Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had no such problems, claiming his side “were all over the place” in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.

United came from two down with ten minutes to go to snatch a point but could have been dead and buried had Villa taken their chances, the home side hitting the post twice and the bar once in the second half.

Ferguson admitted after the game his side were lucky they weren’t’ further behind but was happy that they managed to rescue a point after such a disjointed display.

“We could have lost six goals in the second half. They hit the woodwork three times and Albrighton missed two great chances.

“We were all over the place.

“To be 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go you have to be pleased with that. With another five minutes we would have won the match, there was no doubt about that, but we waited too long to get there.”

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Premier League

The Magpies’ 5-1 mauling of fierce rivals Sunderland at St James’ Park on Sunday ended a week which had seen Newcastle hand former Republic of Ireland defender Hughton the dreaded vote of confidence.

Had his side decided his time was up and capitulated against Steve Bruce’s Black Cats then he may well have quickly discovered that the club statement was worth far less than the paper it was scribbled on.

No, Hughton gets a reprieve, at least until Sunday when he takes Newcastle to Arsenal.

Which gets us to Mancini who is, according to a tabloid report, on thin ice following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at lowly Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

Player power, apparently, has reared its head at Eastlands and the 45-year-old is now facing the prospect of Christman on the dole – or il sussidio di disoccupazione as they might say in Milan.

At least he’ll probably get to keep his blue and white scarf to keep warm.

‘Complete mess’, ‘no one takes any notice’ and ‘team spirit is falling apart’ scream quotes from ’sources’ in The Sun on Monday morning, however Kolo Toure has now reassured long-suffering Blues fans that everything in the garden is smelling of roses and that problems will be resolved “in the dressing room and the training camp”.

So that’s ok then.

But what is certainly not ok is the fact City, for all their millions, went to Molineux at the weekend, took the lead, but then let Mick McCarthy’s men back into the game before slipping to their second Premier League defeat on the bounce.

City are now fourth after starting the weekend in second spot although their early-season performances had hardly inspired talk of global dominance, and they clearly missed the absent Carlos Tevez at Wolves.

Hardly one to keep out of an argument, Yaya Toure’s agent, Dimitri Seluk, has revealed the former Barcelona midfielder’s thinking does not coincide with that of his older brother.

Seluk is quoted: “Yaya thinks there are some players, perhaps mostly those who have been there for a long time, who think that fourth place is already a big position that it is good enough to ‘not lose’ rather than to always win.”

City have now lost three games already this season and are eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

Former boss Mark Hughes was dispensed with last term in similar circumstances and it would come as no surprise if player power does win out at City.

However, the fact remains that since Sir Alex Ferguson took over at Manchester United in 1986, City have got through an unlucky 13 permanent bosses and while the game has moved on, clubs seldom prosper by chopping and changing.

Whatever happens, Mancini, whose training methods were criticised last season, says he wants to get to the root of Saturday’s no-show.

“We must know where that performance came from and we must start again because the season is very long,” he admitted.

“Maybe because we played well for the first 15 minutes, we thought it was an easy game.

“Such a thing doesn’t exist in football.”

Easy games, no, the sack, yes.

City are next in action in the Europa League on Thursday night when they make the trip to Lech Poznan looking to seal a place in the knockout stage (Lech 9/2, draw 14/5, City 8/13 – 90 minutes betting).

Newcastle are now 1/9 to stay up this season.

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Manchester City

England ace Rooney has informed the Red Devils that he does not want to sign a new deal, with strong speculation claiming City are ready to step in and offer the 24-year-old an escape route to Eastlands.

The former Everton youngster has been frozen out of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting plans as a result – the Scot has been sitting on the news since August – and he is certain to have no shortage of admirers despite a slump in form.

Mancini, however, has played a straight bat to questions over a swoop for Rooney although he did make sure the player would be left in no doubt over the Italian’s admiration.

Mancini said: “Rooney is a great player but I think he’ll stay at United. He’s a good player, he’s an important player for United.

“He is a United player. It’s not correct to speak about that situation. I have respect for him, for Ferguson, for United. I want to speak only about my players.

“It’s not my problem. I’m City manager. I have a lot of problems with my players. It’s important for me to focus on Thursday’s game (against Lech Poznan in the Europa League). He is a strong player like (Fernando) Torres, like (Lionel) Messi, like Carlos Tevez, like (Mario) Balotelli. This is my opinion.”

If Rooney does end up at City he will form part of a squad that has still to reach its potential, according to summer signing James Milner.

The England midfielder left Aston Villa for City in the summer but he was just one of a number of big-name arrivals alongside the likes of David Silva, Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure.

City have since gone on to secure second place in the Premier League behind Chelsea and Milner is confident things will get even better over the coming weeks and months once they hit their straps.

He said in the Daily Mirror: “The best is to come but it’s the sign of a good team when you can win and not play your best football. Obviously it takes time for a side with so many new faces to become a unit.

“We have a lot of very good players here, players who are determined to succeed. Hopefully we can keep improving as a team, keep moving forward and hopefully you’ll see the best of us soon.”

City are 2/9 to beat Lech Poznan (12/1) at Eastlands on Thursday night.

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Manchester City

The Argentine striker has been the focal point of Mancini’s attack this season, with seven league goals so far, and has played in all but two of City’s fixtures to date but the Italian boss believes his squad can cope without the talismanic presence of Tevez.

The 26-year-old came to City’s rescue last weekend with a brace as the Eastlands side recorded a 3-2 victory over Blackpool despite a below-par performance but Mancini is confident the likes of David Silva, who also netted in the victory over the Seasiders, and former Arsenal frontman Emmanuel Adebayor can step up and fill the void left by Tevez.

“I will probably rest Carlos on Thursday or Sunday,” Mancini told the Daily Mirror.

“I will speak with Carlos and we will decide. Out of the games, there will probably be one for which Carlos will stay on the bench, because he needs to recover.

“Carlos is a key player for us, but then for us all the players did well at Blackpool. There were other good performances as well as Carlos.

“Manu Adebayor worked so hard, probably the defenders were tired by the time Silva came on. Silva is also very important for us. He’s a fantastic player.”

Mancini claims he could rest the striker in Sunday’s crucial Premier League encounter with Arsenal at Eastlands but it would appear more likely Tevez will sit out on Thursday against Lech Poznan (Match Betting – City 2/9, draw 5/1, Lech Poznan 12/1).

The Italian tactician has named strong starting line-ups for both the Europa League group fixtures his side have played so far, against Juventus and SV Salzburg, but the Polish outfit are perhaps the weakest team in Group A and Mancini may decide to hand some of his fringe players the chance to shine on Thursday.

City currently lie second in the Europa League Group A table, level on four points with current leaders Lech Poznan who have drawn with Italian giants Juventus and beaten SV Salzburg in their two European encounters so far (City 5/1f – Europa League outright).

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Roberto Mancini

The Italian manager saw his side beat Chelsea at Eastlands last weekend to end the west London side’s 100 per cent start to the campaign. City have also drawn with Arsenal and beaten Liverpool so far this season, but it has been the results against the so-called lesser teams that have hampered them.

Many fans would see this as a repeat to last season’s frustrations, they beat Chelsea home and away and also recorded victories over Arsenal but ultimately it was a failure to put away smaller teams that saw them get pipped to the Champions League qualification spot by Spurs (10/1 to finish in the top four this season).

City have experienced defeat at Sunderland and also a home draw with Blackburn in the opening months of the season, however they still sit fourth in the table and only four points off leaders Chelsea.

The club host Newcastle (15/2 to win the game, draw 10/3) to Eastlands on Sunday lunch-time and Mancini will have to do without Pabla Zabaleta, who injured him hamstring in the Europa League game with Juventus earlier in the week, and it is expected the manager will rest Jerome Boateng.

City (2/5 to win the game) are unbeaten on home turf in their five games in all competition so far this season and Mancini has said he wants them to extend that record as a solid home form is essential to match his minimum requirement of a top four finish.

The manager has told the Manchester Evening News however he knows that Newcastle could pose some problems for his side if they try to turn up and ’shut up shop’.

“We must win against teams such as Newcastle. We must not think that we can win only against Chelsea and Liverpool. If we want to go up the table, we must win also against Newcastle,” said Mancini.

“When a team such as Newcastle or Sunderland face City, they will play more defensively than Chelsea or Liverpool.

“This is the problem. Some teams will put a lot of players behind the ball, and it can be difficult to find a solution to this.”

While Mancini sees the top four as his ambition for the season, City defender Dedryk Boyata is looking even higher and has said the target is “to win the title” (City 9/1 to win Premier League).

The teenage defender claims the side need to “stay focused” if they are to reach that level and look to match the standards that has brought them “great results” against the Premier League big guns.

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Manchester City

In a largely cagey affair, a solo goal from striker Carlos Tevez was enough to seal the victory and it saw the Citizens move up to fourth place in the Premier League table, just four points behind the leaders.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side had gone into the match having scored 21 goals in their five previous matches to set the early pace this season, but they created few chances against a resolute City rearguard.

Mancini had stated before the game that he thought Chelsea were the best team in the country and that they would win the league “easily”, and despite masterminding their first defeat, the Italian tactician has not seen anything to change his mind.

“I still think they will win it easily because I think they are the best team in the Premier League,” Mancini said after the game.

“Sometimes you might get a result like today. But they are the better team.”

Mancini was aware of the attacking threat that Chelsea had shown in their previous games and made no excuses for denying the Blues the space to exploit any weaknesses in his back four.

“It is not possible for them to score five goals every game,” the City boss added.

“If Chelsea find space it is easy for them to score. But if they don’t have space it is too hard and our players defended very well.

“But we cannot think everything is OK just because we won this game.”

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti applauded his counterpart for his tactical execution and believes City are genuine title challengers, but admitted his players had not played to their full potential at the weekend.

“They used a good tactic to play against us. To play against us they wanted to counter attack and they did some very well. We knew this but from one counter-attack they scored,” Ancelotti said.

“If you play against a good team with a strong defence and you don’t play at your best then it is normal that you don’t score a goal.

“They have fantastic players and a very good squad and they can fight for the title.”

Meanwhile, Mancini has ruled out the possibility of a January move for Everton’s Jack Rodwell and says it will be “impossible” to sign him.

The young midfielder has long been linked with a move away from Goodison Park, with Manchester United reportedly keen to sign him in the summer.

Mancini has confirmed his interest in the player but admits that a deal in the transfer window is unlikely to come to fruition.

“We put English players in the team but it isn’t easy because all the clubs that have English players won’t sell,” Mancini told the Daily Star Sunday.

“I like Jack Rodwell but will Everton sell? Impossible. If I can, I give young players a chance.

“I was just 16 when I first played in Serie A.”

City (4/5 favourites in the match betting) are next in action on Thursday when they host Italian giants Juventus (3/1 to win, 9/4 the draw) in Group A of the Europa League, before hosting Newcastle in the Premier League next Sunday.

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Manchester City

Carlo Ancelotti’s men make the trip to Eastlands for Saturday’s early kick-off in fantastic form although they did blot their copybook with a Carling Cup defeat to Newcastle in midweek.

Ancelotti elected to give some of his stars the night off but the XI still featured the likes of John Terry, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou alongside some youngsters and fringe players.

The Italian saw his side reduced to 10 men but only through injury when all three substitutions had been made so he was happy with the performance as Chelsea came back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3, before eventually losing 4-3.

Injuries are a problem for City as well – with Saturday’s hosts able to call on just three defenders who are described as fully fit.

Mancini is definitely without Micah Richards (hamstring) while there will be late decisions taken on Joleon Lescott (groin) and Jerome Boateng (knee).

But it is Mancini’s apparent concession of the title to Chelsea that is sure to raise a few eyebrows at Old Trafford and the Emirates.

“Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League at the moment,” said Mancini. “They are probably going to win the Premier League title easily.

“They are a strong team, who have been playing together for many years.

“They have a fantastic manager and they have worked to reach this situation.”

Chelsea have won all of their Premier League games this season, scoring 21 goals and conceding just one in the process (Chelsea 17/10 – To Keep A Clean Sheet).

But they travel north mindful of the fact City did the double over them last season when they backed up a 2-1 win at Eastlands with a 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge at the end of February.

Chelsea will again be without England midfielder Frank Lampard following hernia surgery  and he is joined on the sidelines by striker Salomon Kalou (thigh) and midfielders Yossi Benayoun (calf) and Gael Kakuta (back).

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Manchester City

Tevez was on target at Wigan on Sunday in a 2-0 win as the Blues surged into the top four of the Premier League which is widely thought to be the minimum requirement for Mancini this season.

City’s ambitious owners – the Abu Dhabi United Group – are desperate to secure Champions League football for next season and, as Mark Hughes discovered, perceived failure is not an option.

Mancini settled on handing Tevez the captaincy after talks with the forward during the summer and he has since weighed in with three league goals for the Eastlands outfit.

However, the Italian does not feel the former Manchester United and West Ham United is anywhere near the peak of his powers yet following his exertions with Argentina at the World Cup finals in South Africa (Tevez – 7/1 Premiership Top Scorer).

On the captaincy, Mancini said: “I thought about it during the summer and I spoke to Carlos about it.

“He is an important player and he can improve as captain and we can have more of him.

“I’m very happy for him because at this moment he probably isn’t at 100% of his form.

“Maybe his goal (at Wigan) can help him and it is fantastic he got it today.”

City’s other goal came from Yaya Toure as the Blues eased past the Latics at the DW Stadium at a canter to leave the home side third from bottom on goal difference.

Meanwhile, Mancini has admitted he will reluctantly allow out-of-favour goalkeeper Shay Given to move on during the forthcoming transfer window.

The 34-year-old Republic of Ireland international has fallen behind England number one Joe Hart in the pecking order and appears resigned to the fact his first-team chances at Eastlands have come to an end.

Given will also be aware of the need to stay sharp for his country’s Euro 2012 qualification campaign as the Irish look to make their first major tournament since the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

For now the former Newcastle favourite is kicking his heels in the reserves although talk of a return to St James’ Park might surface after Magpies keeper Steve Harper suffered a shoulder problem against Everton.

Mancini said: “I have a lot of respect for Shay and I told him the situation before the finish of the [transfer] market.

“I told him: ‘Shay, you can choose. I hope that you stay here but I respect your decision and if you want to leave you can.’

“He decided to stay here and until January he must stay here.

“I understand his frustration but I need that Shay stays here and puts in 100%. In January if he decides to leave I respect his decision.”

Harper is set to miss weeks if not months with ligament damage which is a cruel blow for a player who has been forced to wait until his 35th year for a crack at the Premier League on a weekly basis.

The Easington-born keeper has made just 138 appearances for Newcastle since 1993 having acted as back-up to Pavel Srnicek, Shaka Hislop and Given over the years (Magpies 11/2 – Relegation).

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Manchester City

The Eastlands outfit drew their first game of the season with Tottenham before hammering Liverpool 3-0 last Monday but they failed to keep up the momentum as Darren Bent’s injury-time penalty made sure all three points remained at the Stadium of Light (Sunderland 12/1 to be relegated).

Emmanuel Adebayor and Yaya Toure missed excellent chances but it was Carlos Tevez who was guilty of the worst miss, blazing over from 12 yards with an empty net ahead of him.

As is so often the case in the Premiership, a team that fails to score when dominating periods of play ends up losing the match – a fact not lost on the City boss.

“Football is very strange,” he said. “We played fantastic football in the first half but if you don’t score, sometimes you can lose these games.

“We had the Carlos chance, but we also had three or four other opportunities.”

Mancini has assembled a world-class squad at the City of Manchester Stadium and is looking to break the dominance of city rivals United and Chelsea at the top of the Premiership, while also battling in the Europa League.

Qualification for next season’s Champions League is thought to be a minimum requirement for the club’s owners, who have already shown that they are not afraid to make changes if things are not going to plan.

Mark Hughes was sacked in December last year with the club still challenging for a European place and the Italian tactician will hope that his strikers are not so profligate in front of goal throughout the rest of the season, or he too might be looking over his shoulder in the New Year.

City are now already five points behind table-topping Chelsea, while Manchester United and Arsenal make up the top three, and Mancini admitted his frustration at letting three points go in a match that seemed destined for a draw.

“I am disappointed because we wanted to win this game,” he added.

“We were good in the first half but in the second half we defended too deep and they put us under a lot of pressure. Every game is difficult and you must play until the last second.”

The north-west club is next in action on September 11, due to the international break, when Sam Allardyce will bring his Blackburn Rovers squad to Eastlands.

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