Mancini targets title tilt

Roberto Mancini insists his big-spending Manchester City side, on offer at 5/1 to win the title, can challenge the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United for the Premier League crown this season.

City finished fifth last term, narrowly missing out on a place in the Champions League to Spurs, but they are expected to again challenge the big boys for the main prizes next May after another summer of strengthening at Eastlands.

Mancini has already signed Yaya Toure, David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Aleksander Kolarov in big-money deals this summer and the Italian has also expressed an interest in luring Mario Ballotelli and Fernando Torres to the club as he looks to add more quality to his squad and the latest football betting news suggests more players could be on their way in.

With the abundance of talent now at the club, Mancini believes their Premier League rivals are running scared ahead of the new season.

He said: “Are they scared? I think so. At the moment only Manchester City are buying players.

“But that is normal because Manchester City want to improve and the other teams are just big teams who would like a lot of people.

He added: “We have a big opportunity to win the league if we believe in ourselves and do our jobs. We have improved as a team.

“It depends if we can put together a team in the short time available.

“Last year, we fought for fourth place until the penultimate game against Tottenham – the aim this year is to try to win the Premier League. That must be our target.”

City kick off their Premier League campaign with a tough trip to Spurs on August 14 (City 9/5, Spurs 13/10 to win with bet365).

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1. Premier league set for tightest relegation dog fight in years — July 26, 2010 @ 14:32