adminAfter being held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke last Saturday, United piled on the pressure by defeating Fulham on Monday before Mancini was pictured giving controversial striker Mario Balotelli a dressing down in training on Wednesday.
Yet Mancini is now set to turn to another unpredictable member of his squad to ensure City’s title race does not fade in the closing stages.
Tevez has made two substitute appearances totalling 40 minutes since returning to the side earlier in the month following his infamous touchline row with Mancini during a Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich in Germany in September. But the Argentina striker may start against Sunderland after scoring in a 71 minute run-out for the reserves at Morecambe on Wednesday.
The former Manchester United player, who has not started a league game since September, capped an energetic display by finding the net with an ambitious chip from the edge of the box.
Toure says Tevez is desperate to make amends for his behaviour earlier in the season by ensuring City pip his former club to the title.
“Carlos is our player — everyone can make mistakes, but he is really a good man,” said Ivory Coast international Toure.
Sunderland hope to take out their FA Cup frustration on City as they look to bounce back from the bitterly disappointing sixth round replay loss at home to Everton.
The Wearside club slumped to a 2-0 defeat to miss out on their first semi-final in eight years, and skipper Lee Cattermole is adamant they can help atone for that by matching their best-ever Premier League finish — back-to-back seventh-places in 2000 and 2001.
City haven’t dropped points in front of their own fans for 13 months since a 1-1 draw with Fulham, with 20 consecutive victories since then.
But Mancini’s men slid to a 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light in January, and Cattermole said: “We beat them at our place and played out of our skin, so if we can go there and be the first team to get something off them for the first time in ages it’d be brilliant.”
Sunderland sit eighth after a remarkable turn-around in fortunes under manager Martin O’Neill, who took charge before Christmas with the Wearsiders in the bottom three.
Meanwhile, Arsenal striker Gervinho claims the foundations are in place for the club to win trophies in coming seasons as they attempt to pile on the misery for struggling Queens Park Rangers today.
Arsenal have gone on a winning streak of seven games, which has seen them overtake Tottenham and move into third spot in the Premier League. While there is no prospect of ending their seven-year wait for a trophy this year — they are 15 points behind leaders Manchester United with eight games to play — their hopes of a
Champions League spot are firmly in their own hands.
The buoyant mood at the Emirates Stadium is in stark contrast to that at QPR, who are fighting to avoid immediate relegation from the Premier League.
Ahead of today’s trip across London, Gervinho pointed to the youthful nature of the Arsenal squad and tipped them to blossom in the near future.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
TODAY: Fulham v Norwich, Craven Cottage 16:00, Man City v Sunderland, Etihad Stadium 16:00, Everton v West Brom, Goodison Park 16:00, QPR v Arsenal, Loftus Road Stadium 16:00, Wolverhampton v Bolton, Molineux Stadium 16:00, Wigan v Stoke, The DW Stadium 16:00
Aston Villa v Chelsea, Villa Park 16:00
TOMORROW: Newcastle v Liverpool, Sports Direct Arena 14:30, Tottenham v Swansea, White Hart Lane 17:00 —News24.
Online Reporter