The French defender believes that victory over Liverpool will pile the pressure on the current league leaders who take on Spurs in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday afternoon.
And with a round of games in midweek to come, the champions know that two good results could see City top the table before the week is out.
“Liverpool are in a very good moment for sure,” said Mangala. “It’s a very important game for us because we have the opportunity to come back just two points behind Chelsea.
We need to capitalise on the fact that Chelsea is playing the Capital One Cup this weekend and keep the pressure on
...Eliaquim Mangala...
“It’s a very important game but it’s not a decisive game. The title will not be decided this weekend. There are still a lot of games to play after that one but we want to win.”
Mangala, who will hope to return to the starting line-up on Sunday after watching the Barcelona match from the bench.
He revealed he has spoken to skipper Vincent Kompany about the trip to Merseyside and though this would be his first visit, he is aware City have failed to win in their past 12 trips to Liverpool.
“Vincent talked to me about Anfield,” he said. “He told me that it was a tough place to play and that the atmosphere was really something.
“He also said to me that he had never won at Stoke City before this season and has never won at Anfield since he joined City - but we beat Stoke recently so why not end our poor run at Anfield as well. We will see.”
“He also told me just before December that I needed to be prepared and that it was now the most important month of the league.
“He told me at the time that I will see how teams will win points and others will drop points and that the order of the table will change - and it’s what happened.. The league is open and unpredictable.
“We are still very much in the title race. The season is not over and everything is possible in football, especially in this league. We were eight points behind Chelsea in November and then level, fell seven points behind again and we are now five points behind.
“If we win on Sunday, there will be just two points between us and Chelsea so it’s still a very open title race and we are right in there.”
Book now for City v Leicester
Midweek football is back at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as City face Leicester in the Barclays Premier League.
With City aiming for a third Premier League title in four years and Leicester looking to climb off the bottom of the table, this is sure to be an unmissable clash.
There’s also a chance you’ll see our new signing Wilfried Bony in action - will this be the night he scores his first City goal? The game isn’t being televised in the UK, so there’s only one way to find out!
There are only six home Premier League games to go and we need your support every step of the way... see you at the match!
