"Mancini: Insists City head to the Allianz Arena looking to pick up three points"
Roberto Mancini is confident Manchester City are capable of picking up a positive result away at Bayern Munich on Tuesday. The Blues face their toughest test of the season so far in midweek when they travel to the Allianz Arena.
A bright start to the Premier League season bodes well for the Blues, but their opponents are also in fine form at the moment.
City are set to face a side that has won its last nine fixtures, scoring 26 goals and conceding none during that run.
Mancini is aware that his team are still inexperienced when it comes to competing in Europe's premier club competition, but believes they have the ability to win every game they play.
"Why not?" he said when asked if City were capable of picking up their first Champions League victory on German soil.
"We are not here to lose. We know it will be difficult but we want to win if possible.
Progress"I am certainly satisfied with the progress we have made, even if we need to improve a lot.
"This is the second game for us in the Champions League. Now we are a good team.
"But if we want to arrive on the top like Bayern Munich, who have such a big history, we need to work very hard."
Mancini is yet to settle on his starting XI for a mouth-watering clash with Bayern, but he has hinted that Carlos Tevez could be recalled.
The Argentine has had to settle for a place on the bench since expressing a desire to leave the club over the summer, but his experience could prove to be invaluable in midweek.
"I have four fantastic strikers," said Mancini, whose conundrum is eased slightly by the absence of Mario Balotelli through suspension.
"I can't play four strikers in all the games.
Selection
"Mario played against Everton. Carlos, tomorrow, could have a chance. "We are not here to lose. We know it will be difficult but we want to win if possible."
Roberto Mancini Quotes of the week "I will decide the team tomorrow. I am sure that I can choose well because I have Carlos, Edin (Dzeko) and Sergio (Aguero) to pick from."
Mancini is refusing to buy into the belief that City have to take something from their trip to Bayern after drawing their opening game against Napoli on home soil, with it his opinion that three wins and a draw from six fixtures will be enough to see the Blues into the knockout stage.
"We wanted to beat Napoli but we need to understand that in the Champions League you can also draw at home," he said.
"The most important thing is that we get 10 points to reach the second stage.
"Against Napoli we just wanted to win. With that pressure you can make some mistakes.
"Here it will be different because we know it will be a tough game. I am sure we will do well tomorrow." |
