No extra pressure on Mancini

Roberto Mancini heads into tonight's Carling Cup semi-final with Liverpool insisting he has not been put under any additional pressure by Manchester City's mega-rich owners.

City will be contesting their third semi-final in as many seasons, and the first that does not involve Manchester United, at the Etihad Stadium this evening. Unlike many of his Barclays Premier League counterparts, Mancini has named strong teams throughout the competition.

Yet the Blues manager insists this was only because of the players at his disposal rather than through a demand from his Abu Dhabi-based bosses. And he said: "I am not under pressure from the owners. They are interested that we win everything if it is possible. But I don't have any pressure from them."

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