BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

AVB need look no further than Mancini for a guide

THE next stop on Manchester City’s hike to global football dominance is Naples where Roberto Mancini’s men will win easily.

Indeed I reckon the Champions League is so predictable this season that they might as well cut out all the posturing and time-wasting and just set up a Barca-City final.

That’s what’s going to happen so let’s spare us the monumental tedium of rounds five and six of the group stage and watching Arsenal go out all guns blazing in the last 16.

Obviously Arsene Wenger might have something to say about that though most of what he says still seems to be nonsense.

The man who was memorably always blind to the many offences that Martin Keown and chums were trying to get away with on a Saturday afternoon, still can’t see the wood for the trees.

I give you as evidence the laughable notion that Per Mertesacker is the answer to his defensive woes.

He’s also trying to convince us that the Gunners are suddenly the real deal because it’s only a few weeks ago that everyone was talking about relegation.

Who precisely?

Anyway, Wenger can relax.

Now it’s Andre Villas-Boas’ turn to be on the butt end of a media feeding frenzy, but it’ll pass.

Mancini can testify to that.

He could do no right this time last year – fast forward a few months and he’s the saviour of football, a God-like figure in a blue and white scarf.

He’ll inevitably be the worst coach ever imported if they go down at Napoli and lose to Bayern Munich in their finale, but that ain’t going to happen.

City and CSKA Moscow are the two standout Tuesday bets.