By MARTIN BLACKBURN
ROBERTO MANCINI has warned his Manchester City players FA Cup final places will be up for grabs against West Brom tonight.
The Italian insists he has still not finalised his starting line-up for Saturday’s Wembley showdown with North-West rivals Wigan.
And that means there will be more at stake for the players than simply consolidating their Champions League place when the Baggies visit the Etihad.
Yaya Toure could be given a rest after complaining of muscle tiredness in the scoreless draw at Swansea and may be one of a few changes made by Mancini.
The City chief said: “I have not yet decided my Cup final team — we will only talk about it after tonight’s game.
“A good team should have a good mentality in this game, and then we have four days to recover before the final. We need to play with five or six fresh players, for sure.”
City will seal a top-three finish — and Champions League football for next year — with a win over Steve Clarke’s men. But they may still need more to be sure of beating Chelsea to the runners-up spot.
Mancini added: “We need to beat West Brom and get second, then we can play the next three games with no problem.”
The City boss is unlikely to change his policy of playing reserve keeper Costel Pantilimon ahead of Joe Hart in domestic cup matches — despite the magnitude of Saturday’s game.
He said: “I don’t think I will change it. I know Joe wants to play but we decided at the start of the season it was important for Pantilimon to play in the two cups.”
Defender Pablo Zabaleta admits nobody in the City squad is taking their place in the Wembley team for granted as the final approaches.
He said: “We will all be playing for places at Wembley. Every single player will want to show the manager they want to play in that game.
“It’s important for the club to keep winning trophies. The FA Cup is a special competition.”
