Tevez out so Man City 50% weaker!

It certainly won't be easy, but shorn of Tevez, Man City are only half the side they are when our ex Third Party Agreement superstar is in their team. Player for player, Unreal City are still much, much stronger but the Tevez spat last weekend showed the extent of disharmony inside Mancini's dressing room, and if we get amongst them, we may just be able to pull off a result.

Mind you, Grant is again struggling to cobble together a team. Will Behrami make it? You can bet your life that he would be out there if this was a Cup Final in May, but a nasty scrap in early December? Brrrrrrrr, where are Roma when you need them most?

What about Dyer? Play two games in a row? Are you having a laugh? But hang on, he didn't really play at the Stadium of Light did he?

Up front? Will it be Cole and Piquionne or Cole and Obinna or Obinna and Piquionne? I think 99% of the fans would have Cole's arse parked firmly on the bench but with Avram, who knows? Would you put it past him to go 4-3-3 again?

Will the 4 centre back nonsense be repeated? God help us if it is!

And what about Specs? One Kaka like performance could see Mancini bid £35m for him and offer a weekly wage of £250,000 a week. Come on Specs, you can do it! Glory beckons!

Our best hope is that the Unreal City superstars are hoping for a Christmas present of a new manager, and see this trip down to London as an irritating chore. It's a shame the weather has eased - a biting chill in the air might have made the warmth of a track suit on the bench seem much more attractive than freezing your bollocks off on the pitch.

The first 20 minutes will be crucial. If we get amongst them, ruffle feathers and ideally take a lead, as against Spurs, we might take away three points. If we allow City to boss that opening spell, God help us!