Mancini tips Dzeko to come good
Roberto Mancini is confident Edin Dzeko will establish himself as one of the best strikers in England despite a slow start for Manchester City.
Dzeko, 24, is still feeling his way at Eastlands after arriving for a reported £24million from Wolfsburg in the January transfer window.
The Bosnian's only goals so far have come in cup competitions and he could return to the team in the Europa League last-16, first leg meeting with Dynamo Kiev on Thursday after starting on the bench against Wigan at the weekend.
Mancini opted instead for a partnership of Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli but is positive Dzeko will go on to make a big impact.
He said: "These three strikers can play together sometimes but not always. When they do it's important that they work.
"As for Edin it is not easy to start with a new team in a new league in January, but I believe he will become one of the best strikers in England."
On Wednesday City trained at Carrington rather than in Kiev, where temperatures have dipped to below freezing with the remnants of snow littering the city.
Mancini said: "It will be a difficult game but it's only the first half. I hope we can play a good game, score a goal and win if possible.
"We have good players and a good squad. I don't know what kind of football we can play. The problem is the pitch. It's so hard because it's cold at the moment."
Shaun Wright-Phillips could come into contention after missing two games with a back problem, while Nigel de Jong, who has recovered from an ankle injury, is pushing for his first start in over a month.
James Milner is absent with a hamstring strain, however, while Kolo Toure is banned indefinitely after failing a drugs test.
Mancini added: "Kolo is a serious professional player. We said one week ago that we want to win games for him."
Dynamo dropped out of the Champions League but Italian boss Mancini is aware of the damage former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko could do to his team.
Mancini said: "I know Shevchenko because he played in Italy for a long time. He was a fantastic player and he's one of the best players on their team.
"Kiev are a good team. Shevchenko has other important players around him."
Thursday's game will be City's 17th in 69 days and Mancini joked: "We need a holiday.
"We have had two days off to recover but it's impossible that we can be fresh when we play one game every few days."
Dynamo have not lost in six UEFA home matches since a 2-1 Champions League group stage defeat to Barcelona in December 2009.
However, Mancini enjoyed success as a player against the hosts during the 1999/2000 season with his Lazio side winning 2-1 in Rome and 1-0 in Kiev.