Alex Ferguson and his side are on the ropes after two league defeats in a row.
But Manchester City chief Mancini feels he needs further transfer swoops this month if the club want to turn their three-point Prem lead into a first title win in 44 years.
He said: "This could be a first title for many years and we need to do everything we can to win it."
The Etihad board, concerned about the new Financial Fair Play regulations, want Mancini to sell before he can buy.
But Carlos Tevez's proposed £25m transfer to Milan continues to stall, while his treble-chasers have been hit by injuries and Gareth Barry's ban.
City will also be minus key midfielder Ya Ya Toure and defender Kolo Toure on African Nations Cup duty.
Asked if it has been made clear to him he cannot buy without selling first, Mancini said: "Yes, yes. This is the problem. But if we don't have the players, it's tough for us."
City owner Sheikh Mansour has spent £500m on players since August 2008.
must spend more..............must buy...........
the whole Real Madrid and Barca squads..............
if he needs to sign more players it means he cmi.
the current squad should be good enough to win the premiership.
city are out of the CL and FA cup.
next comes the carling cup semi, europa league and premiership.
he must be having a headache. logically he should field his best team for the premiership. but we know there is no guarantee in football. what if city doesnt win the premiership. considering how much city have spent he at least have to win one cup trophy to avoid fans calling for his sack.
so how should he play it?
should he field his strongest squad against pool and risk injury and fatigue?
That they are missing someone else other than Vincent Kompany and the Toure brothers.
Carlos Tevez. Sorry to mention the c-word.
You first started thinking along these lines when City were beaten 2-1 in Naples — also the night Roberto Mancini chose not to start with Sergio Aguero.
And again when they went down by the same score at Chelsea.
And yet again when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United.
And finally when Liverpool placed one foot in the Carling Cup final on Wednesday night.
It was the first time City had suffered back-to-back home defeats since February 2008.
City supporters would rather not be reminded of the disaffected Argentine.
Nor would the rest of us, seeing how badly he has let down himself, his club and his entire profession.
But City's 1-0 defeat by Liverpool, one of their poorest displays under Mancini, was significant in that on the night they lacked everything Tevez once gave them.
Pace, drive, energy, determination and attitude. No team that ever played against one containing Tevez could rest easy.
The Argentine got under your feet and in your hair — and scored 44 times in 63 games for City. Unlike Mario Balotelli, he didn't pick and choose his games, either. Well, until he upped sticks.
Aguero is a fantastic professional, a huge talent and has 18 goals in 28 matches.
But he needs help. He might even have benefited from a rest on Wednesday, after running himself into the ground against United three days earlier.
Yet he has had to soldier on. Mancini can hardly trust Balotelli, while Edin Dzeko's goals have dried up.
Balotelli was a waste of space against Liverpool in a performance that was a joke.
His heart was clearly not in it and he was eventually taken off after squaring up to Charlie Adam and then striking the free-kick he had just been awarded with such power he appeared to aggravate an old ankle injury.
Who knows if he really was injured.
Samir Nasri, his replacement, once more failed to make any impression. Like James Milner, he doesn't hurt teams.
Then there's Dzeko. A second-half substitute for Adam Johnson, he completed his 11th appearance without finding the net.
We all laughed when Mancini said he needed replacements in the transfer window. But it's becoming increasingly evident City are carrying players, however ridiculous that might appear.
In the absence of Yaya Toure and the injured David Silva, players like Nasri should be stepping up to the plate.
The same goes for Milner. Yet neither seems to respond to the burden of responsibility.
Tottenham have had injuries. But the likes of Sandro and Jake Livermore have come in without any effect on the impetus of a Spurs run that has seen them join United in second place in the Premier League, after 14 wins, four draws and just one defeat since City thrashed them 5-1 at White Hart Lane.
For years, Spurs have had a reputation for being flaky, the whole house of cards tumbling down when real pressure is put on them. Right now, though, it's City, at the top for so long, having trouble with both altitude sickness and self-belief.
Even Mancini is having a wobble, almost Keegan-esque in his card-waving response to Glen Johnson's challenge on Joleon Lescott.
With Spurs due at the Etihad on Sunday week — the same day United travel to Arsenal — the Italian has to get the show back on the road.
Yes, Spurs have a run now that also includes trips to Liverpool and Arsenal and home games with Newcastle and United. Plus they won't be able to play Emmanuel Adebayor against City.
But, unlike City and United, the Londoners don't have European football to distract them.
And while both Manchester clubs meet at the Etihad on April 28, Spurs have a final fixture list of Swansea (h), Sunderland (a), Norwich (h), Bolton (a), QPR (a), Blackburn (h), Aston Villa (a) and Fulham (h).
Tottenham champions? Even their own fans can't quite believe that. Yet if City and United continue throwing away points, anything is possible.
from the sun
i think arsenal fans cannot accept spurs may have a crack at the title.
see how the 2 sets of fans argue on the soccernet.
Why cant city just have a peace talk with Tevez. This few coming matches would determine city's fate this season, with the toure brothers gone, they need to tap in every possible available resource to cover up their position.
it wont happen.
both of them have big egoes.