Mancini masks City's troubles

London - In a series of fiery exchanges with the media, Roberto Mancini had struggled to explain in words that the pressure wasn't getting to him amid Manchester City's patchy form.

So on Friday, the manager resorted to humor.

The Italian turned up at his media briefing ahead of Saturday's match against Aston Villa wearing a mask of assistant manager David Platt.

"Do you prefer David or me?" Mancini joked.

Mancini sent Platt in his place for the last two media gatherings to fend off questions about City's ill-fated Champions League campaign and stuttering Premier League title defense.

The questions aren't going away — despite City being the only unbeaten team in the Premier League.

Man United, which leads City by two points, is at Norwich on Saturday.