Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City will qualify for the Champions League if he is able to field Carlos Tévez and Emmanuel Adebayor together.
City's first-choice forward pairing have not featured together since the 2-0 win at home to Bolton on Feb 9, thanks to Tévez's return to his homeland on compassionate grounds and the four-match suspension handed to the Togolese for violent conduct against Stoke in the FA Cup.
Mancini, though, will name both in his line-up for Monday's clash with Wigan. The Italian is confident City will see off the challenge of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Liverpool to finish in the top four if his £57 million strike force can stay fit for the seven remaining games.
"We have missed Emmanuel a lot [since his ban]," said the City manager. "His return will give us a major boost for the run-in. If we can play Manu and Carlos for the remaining matches, I think we will be fine.
"I believe all the teams around us have a number of difficult games during the next month, and for that reason anything could happen. There are no easy games from now on and we need to prepare for eight battles each time, starting with Wigan, who have a good manager who likes his teams to play good football.
"We are all fighting for one position and for me it is vital we forget the Everton match and move on. That is how we work. Chelsea, we win, and it is in the past, we move on. Fulham, we win, it is in the past, we move on. The next game is always the most important, not the one we have just played."
That 2-0 defeat to David Moyes's side, which ended in a touchline contretemps between the two managers and cost City their unbeaten home record, resulted in City slipping five points behind Tottenham, albeit with a game in hand, but club captain Kolo Toure believes the pressure will bring out the best in his side.
"We cannot use any excuses when we are trying to get into fourth place," he said. "We can see Tottenham doing well and we know the standard of the competition is really high. But that is good for us."
Balotelli Agent quashes rumour
The agent of striker Mario Balotelli has insisted that the 19 year-old is staying at Inter Milan , despite his public falling out with coach Jose Mourinho.
The Italian media had speculated that the exciting young striker would leave at the end of the season, particularly in light of his latest spat with Mourinho which saw him left out of the Champions League squad against Chelsea entirely. There had even been rumours of a move to city rivals AC Milan.
The unrest had alerted both Arsenal and Manchester City in particular. Arsenal were linked with Balotelli during the January transfer window but manager Arsene Wenger dismissed rumours at the time. Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has publicly said he would like to bring the Italy Under-21 striker to Eastlands if he could.
However, Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola told Italian TV station Sky Sport 24, “Mario will not go to Milan and there has never been any attempt.
“Balotelli will be at Inter for a long time. This story has gone way out of proportion. I hope it ends soon... because the player wants to make an important contribution to the team.”
Raiola refused to be drawn on the reasons for the deterioration in Balotelli’s relationship with Mourinho, simply saying, “It’s not for me to talk about...I want to simply calm him down.”
Arsenal and Manchester City have been attracted by Balotelli’s pace and power. He has scored eight goals and provided four assists for Inter Milan this season in 26 appearances, many of which have been as a substitute.
Adam Johnson wants Manchester City to put silly season behind them in race for fourth
Adam Johnson insists Manchester City have put their defeat by Everton — and Roberto Mancini’s bust-up with David Moyes — behind them and are focused on reviving their top-four bid at home to Wigan on Monday.
The Italian clashed with Moyes as City suffered their first home defeat of the season in midweek — and victories for Tottenham and Liverpool over the weekend have put more pressure him.
Winger Johnson said: ‘I think we’ll put that game behind us quite quickly and kick on again.
‘People have made too much of it. The manager was just showing how much he cares about this club and the team. He was frustrated, but no more than that.
'He wants us to win and that was our first home defeat so we all felt it.’
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Tottenham could extend striker Eidur Gudjohnsen's loan for a further 12 months. The Monaco player has scored two goals in his last three appearances and impressed in top scorer Jermain Defoe's absence. Daily Mirror
Manchester United are considering a move for 24-year-old Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who is valued by the Bundesliga club at about £10m. Daily Mirror
Bolton, Birmingham and Preston are keeping tabs on Manchester United's England Under-21 international Tom Cleverley, currently on loan at Watford. Daily Mail
Defender Liam Ridgewell will look to leave St Andrew's unless Blues stump up a new four-year, £20,000-a-week deal for the in-form 25-year-old. Daily Mirror
Hull misfit Geovanni is in talks with Greek side AEK Athens as the Brazilian hopes to leave the KC Stadium, where his £25,000-a-week wages are set to be cut by 40%. Daily Mail
And Geovanni's team-mate, midfielderJimmy Bullard, will be top of Newcastle's shopping list if the Magpies secure promotion to the Premier League. Bullard, 30, has only started eight games since a £5m move 14 months ago but scored in Saturday's win against his former club Fulham. The Sun
Derby County manager Nigel Clough is chasing Den Haag midfielder Danny Buijs. Daily Mirror
OTHER BOLLOX
Roy Keane will be sacked as Ipswich manager this week, although he could make a quick return to work, with Celtic considering making him Tony Mowbray's successor. The Guardian
But West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola will remain in his post at least until the end of the season, despite a six-game losing streak that has left the Hammers only a point above the relegation zone. The Italian, who said he would consider his future in the wake of Saturday's loss to Stoke, has the backing of senior players. The Times
Or, Zola will not return to the club after taking flight to Sardinia following Saturday's home loss. The Independent
However, a friend of Zola's has spoken to him and learnt that he has no intention of walking out on the job and will be in charge for Sunday's trip to Everton. Daily Mail
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas faces a race to be fit for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first-leg against Barcelona. The former Barca trainee could be joined on the sidelines by Abou Diaby, while Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta will miss the tie with a hamstring strain. The Guardian
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic fears being banned for four of the club's remaining six Premier League matches after appearing to catch Bolton's Johan Elmander with an elbow during Saturday's 4-0 victory.Daily Mirror
A group of Rangers fans have taken the first tentative steps towards a potential takeover of the club. The Rangers Supporters Trust has sent an exploratory document and members hope to buy the shares of majority shareholder and former chairman Sir David Murray.Daily Mirror
Chris Hughton has confirmed he will remain as Newcastle manager next season and insists he is keen to keep both striker Andy Carroll and captain Steven Taylor at the club, despite the pair allegedly being involved in a training-ground row that left Taylor with a broken jaw.Daily Mirror
Football fans will be given the right to buy their club under new proposals announced by the Labour government. Under the proposal, fan groups would get priority over other bidders. (The Times) Ha ha, they are that desperate for votes they are pandering to the Yellow & green brigade
West Ham had a novel approach to combating Stoke midfielder Rory Delap's long throws on Saturday - deploying advertising hoardings within feet of the pitch. They even made an announcement over the public address system for a ball boy to replace a hoarding that had been knocked over. (The Sun)
