Manchester City

THE ESSENTIAL

Roberto Mancini believes it is "very important" for Manchester City to still be top of the table after coming through a difficult January.

Nigel de Jong expects Manchester City to pull together to get their title charge back on track, saying: "We win and lose with each other."

Costel Pantilimon has said that he is loving life at Manchester City. The second-choice goalkeeper impressed in a rare outing against Arsenal in the Carling Cup.

Jamie Carragher is targeting the Carling Cup final to make his Wembley debut in a Liverpool shirt. The Reds are into the semi-finals after beating Chelsea and will have to beat Manchester City over two legs to get there.

Roberto Mancini has said that his Manchester City side are not good enough to win this season's Champions League. The comments are somewhat of a backtrack by Mancini, after he previously suggested that City were on a par with the best teams in Europe.

Manchester City youngsters Luca Scapuzzi and Andreas Mancini have signed for Oldham Athletic on emergency loan deals.

Emmanuel Adebayor has called his time at Manchester City a "headache" as he continues to thrive at Tottenham Hotspur. The Togo striker said: "I wish them the best of luck, but do I wish to be part of that team right now? No. Whenever I woke up last year to go into training it was a headache."

Manchester City defender Greg Cunningham has signed for Nottingham Forest on an emergency loan deal. The 20-year-old operates on the left-hand side and is already a Republic of Ireland international.

Nigel De Jong and Nani have both spoke of their desire to win the Manchester derby. City midfielder De Jong said: "We're going down there as number one and the aim is to stay number one" while United hotshot Nani said: "We should not forget we are United. When we play at home it is very hard to beat us - that is why we are so confident. These are the games that always get the team motivated."

Roberto Mancini has expressed his desire to stay as Manchester City manager for the next four years at least. He said: "I would like to stay - I think Manchester City is one of the world's best clubs."