'Super Mario' came to Manchester City's rescue on Thursday night in Romania, but there wasn't a single moustachioed, red-dungaree-sporting plumber in sight. It was Mario Balotelli, City's latest big money striker, who came off the bench against Timisoara to save his new team the slight embarrassment of returning to England without a first leg advantage in the Europa League.
It took 72 minutes for Roberto Mancini's side to break the deadlock on Thursday and before that, 90 had passed without a goal at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur. At this early stage of the season one goal from two games is hardly drought material but, given the money spent by Mancini in the summer, it wont be long before critics are asking questions of the Italian's acquisitions.
Mancini has conceded it could take a few weeks for City's star-studded line-up to gel and become a genuine force to be reckoned with in the Premier League, but the former Inter boss will be hoping to set the wheels in motion with a victory at Eastlands on Monday.
Taking The Rough With The Smooth
It has been a week of ups and downs for Liverpool; on the pitch they carried the momentum of a draw with Arsenal on the opening day into a midweek Europa League meeting with Trabzonspor where they came out on top thanks to a solitary goal from Ryan Babel, though a one-goal lead could prove difficult to hold on to with the notorious Turkish crowd breathing down their necks.
Joe Cole misses the trip to Eastlands and missed a penalty on Thursday night to round off a disappointing week for him, while Chinese businessman Kenny Huang pulled out of a takeover that would have seen the club free of the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and Alberto Aquilani will be in Italy on Monday ahead of a loan move to Juventus.
Two players who look likely to stay with the club are Javier Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt, though. Both had been linked with moves to Inter, but manager Roy Hodgson believes the European champions will not move for the pair. It is a massive boost for the Reds, who will be keen to prove the City revolution will not prevent them from returning to the top four, and what better way to do that than with a win on Monday night?
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City
James Milner could make his debut for City after completing his switch from Aston Villa this week, but fellow summer signings Aleksandar Kolarov and Jerome Boateng are injured, while Wayne Bridge is also a doubt.Mario Balotelli looks likely to recover from the knee problem that saw him limping after his first appearance against Timisoara in midweek and could start.
Possible Starting XI: Hart; Richards, Kolo Toure, Kompany, Zabaleta; Yaya Toure, De Jong; Milner; Tevez, Balotelli, Silva.
Liverpool
Roy Hodgson rested a host of first team players on Thursday, many of whom are likely to return to the starting line-up, including Javier Mascherano, who could return after a calf injury. Daniel Agger, however, is struggling with concussion.Fernando Torres may also get his first start of the season after appearing as a second half substitute against Arsenal and Trabzonspor. Joe Cole begins a three-game suspension after his red card against the Gunners.
Possible Starting XI: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio; Mascherano, Poulsen; Kuyt, Gerrard, Jovanovic; Torres.
It's time for City to start winning in order to keep the wolves from the door. Their huge outlay means that their scrappy performance at White Hart Lane was seen as a negative. They should be good enough to get past a Liverpool side who travelled badly last season and who threw away two points to Arsenal last week.
Man City 2-1 Liverpool 
