Manchester: Roberto Mancini believes that his Manchester City side must aim for a total of 90 points to secure the Premier League title.
City are currently top of the table with 44 points from 17 matches, meaning that they are on track to reach their manager’s target, which the Italian feels is necessary to shake off the challenge of local rivals Manchester United.
“We are happy [to be top] but as I said, it's important to stay top at the end of the season,” Mancini told BBC Sport after his team’s 3-0 win over Stoke City that guarantees them front-runner status at Christmas.
“If we want to win the championship we should get 90 points because Manchester United keep winning.”
The Premier League is set to be a higher-scoring affair than last season in terms of points, with 80 being enough for United to triumph in 2010-11.
Mancini also revealed that he expects the coming weeks to be decisive for his team, with games against Liverpool and Tottenham in the Premier League as well as an FA Cup grudge match with United and a League Cup clash, also against the Reds, all set for January.
Yaya and Kolo Toure will be missing during some of that time as they depart for the Africa Cup of Nations to represent Ivory Coast.
“January is an important month,” the City boss admitted.
“We will have a lot of games and we lose two important players like Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure and I hope we are lucky and don't get any injuries.”
Mancini’s side face two away tests next, with a visit to West Brom on December 26 followed by a trip to Sunderland on January 1.
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