admin“Mario is OK, he did training yesterday,” Mancini told a news conference.
City hammered Spurs 5-1 at White Hart Lane in August but since then Harry Redknapp’s men have lost only once in the league and turned into title contenders, winning many admirers with their attractive brand of soccer.
Mancini said the August thumping would have no bearing on tomorrow’s match because meeting as title rivals was different to playing each other at the start of a season when results can be strange.
“It’s better to lose one time 5-1 than five times 1-0,” he said.
“We played five months ago, it was totally different. When you start the season anything can happen because all the squad are not ready to play 100 percent. Every team needs four, five, six games to be confident.”
Mancini added Spurs could win the title but that defeat by his team would “maybe” end the London club’s challenge.
He joined the band of admirers of Tottenham’s playing style but fell short of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson’s assessment last month that Redknapp’s team were the best team to watch at the moment.
“They play the best football probably — after us,” the Italian said.
“For me, the best football is played by Swansea, they play very well,” he added, referring to the promoted side from Wales.
City are three points clear of champions United at the top of the table with 51 points from 21 games, while Spurs are five points behind tomorrow’s opponents.
Having torn apart teams with their relentless attacking for the first half of the season, City had suffered a mild wobbly patch at the start of this year before answering their critics with a gritty 1-0 win on a cold Monday night in Wigan.
They managed it without suspended centre back Vincent Kompany and influential midfielder Yaya Toure, who along with brother Kolo is on African Nations Cup duty with Ivory Coast.
“It was important (the Wigan win) but we have another four or five games in this situation,”Mancini said.
English Premier League fixtures (times (GMT).
Today: Norwich City v Chelsea (1245) Everton v Blackburn Rovers (1500) Fulham v Newcastle United (1500) Queens Park Rangers v Wigan Athletic (1500) Stoke City v West Bromwich Albion (1500) Sunderland v
Swansea City (1500) Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa (1500) Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool (1730)
Tomorrow: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur (1330) Arsenal v Manchester United (1600)
La Liga fixtures (times GMT).
Today: Racing Santander v Getafe (1700) Espanyol v Granada CF (1700) Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid (1900) Real Betis v Sevilla (2100)
Tomorrow: Osasuna v Valencia (1100) Rayo Vallecano v Real Mallorca (1500) Malaga v Barcelona (1700) Levante v Real Zaragoza (1845) Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (2030)
Playing on Monday Villarreal v Sporting Gijon (2000)
Serie A fixtures (times GMT).
Today: AS Roma v Cesena (1700) Atalanta Bergamo v Juventus (1945)
Tomorrow: Bologna v Parma (1130) Cagliari v Fiorentina (1400) Lecce v Chievo Verona (1400) Novara v AC Milan (1400) Palermo v Genoa (1400) Siena v Napoli (1400) Udinese v Catania (1400) Inter Milan v Lazio (1945). — Online.
Online Reporter