Manchester United will probably still win title, says Roberto Mancini

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/88158?ns=guardian&pageName=Manchester+United+will+probably+still+win+title%2C+says+Roberto+Mancini%3AArticle%3A1734821&ch=Football&c3=Guardian&c4=Premier+League+2011-12%2CRoberto+Mancini+%28football%29%2CManchester+City+%28Football%29%2CManchester+United+%28Football%29%2CWolverhampton+Wanderers+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified%2CPremier+League&c6=Kevin+McCarra&c7=12-Apr-22&c8=1734821&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FPremier+League+2011-12" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">• City manager plays down his side's chances again<br />• 'We are not under pressure as we are not expected to win'</p><p>Roberto Mancini is insistent that Manchester United will be Premier League champions. The stance adopted by the Manchester City manager in the wake of the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers grows more eccentric as the consistency of his side improves.</p><p>City are only three points behind United and meet them next at the Etihad Stadium next Monday. The prospect of triumph is still being dismissed by Mancini. He was asked if United would be champions. "Probably," he insisted. Nonetheless, his competitiveness has not really vanished.</p><p>"When we played the FA&nbsp;Cup tie in January," he recalled, "we gave them a gift. They won. But Monday will be a different game." The reference to the next encounter with United confirmed that there is no defeatism. "I don't think they have pressure," Mancini still claimed, " because they are used to it every year. For us, it's different because it's the first time. At the moment, we don't have any pressure because we are not expected to win.</p><p>"Only one team can win this title. It's not in our hands. We have three points less. After the derby we play Newcastle who are fighting for the Champions League and QPR who are fighting relegation.</p><p>"A good day?" he mused when asked about yesterday's contrasting results. "Not really. We won a difficult game. Wolves are relegated. I don't think they deserve to be there. I'm very sorry for them. They fight for every ball. For us, we didn't play well today."</p><p>In truth, Mancini verges on the sarcastic whenever he writes off his team. "You all wrote the title race was finished," he said to journalists. "Seven days ago, the race was finished. You wrote it."</p><p>In addition, it is the key to Mancini's strategy that expectations should be heaped on others, even if that approach is bound to fail when City have such conspicuous resources. Still, he could not entirely conceal satisfaction.</p><p>Mancini suggested that his men might have been expecting a simpler victory. "It's not important the performance. We played well all season but now it only matters to win. Sometimes we play well. Sometimes we don't, We played for 20 games and were at the top. Then we made some mistakes."</p><p>Mancini then observed that there had been a tapering off in the side's level. "I don't think we did the same performance as we did against Norwich or West Bromwich," he said on Sunday. "I'm so disappointed for us not scoring more. If you don't score you might have a problem."</p><p>There was a possible sarcasm towards the sceptics, but he was well mannered enough to salute City's owners. "They have shown me that they support me always. It's not for me. It's for the team. I work for serious people: the owner, the chairman. We have improved a lot from last year. If you win, you are happy, sure. But if you are improving then that's important." Mancini was not uniformly appreciative of his players. When asked about good goalkeeping from Joe Hart against Wolves, the manager said: "For this reason, I'm unhappy with my strikers for not closing this game."</p><p>Mancini was happier, though, when reflecting that Mario Balotelli's suspension has been completed before the game against United next Monday. "I'll be happy to have him available," said the City manager. "Mario scored two goals against United at Old Trafford [in the 6-1 win in October]. He's a very important player for this game."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premier-league-2011-12">Premier League 2011-12</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/roberto-mancini">Roberto Mancini</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchestercity">Manchester City</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchester-united">Manchester United</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/wolves">Wolverhampton Wanderers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague">Premier League</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/kevinmccarra">Kevin McCarra</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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