Roberto Mancini believes that Manchester City are capable of clinching the Premier League title from arch rivals Manchester United as long as they continue to pick up maximum points in their remaining games.

The North West side sit at the top of the league table, two points clear of the Red Devils after a tough period in January.

The Italian boss has had to endure weeks without brothers Yaya and Kolo Toure due to their commitments with the Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations, while captain Vincent Kompany was suspended for four matches throughout the hectic month.

"It is important to be at the top at the moment," the Daily Star quotes Mancini as saying. "This is very important.

"During the season we know there are difficult moments. I don't think we had a bad month in January, but we had a difficult month because this can happen with injuries, players away and players banned.

"If you have these problems, maybe it's clear that you can't ­always play very well. It is important that we stay top and don't think about the other teams."

City travel to Aston Villa on Sunday.