Confident Kompany has ‘gut feeling’ about City’s title credentials

Roberto Mancini’s side have dropped just two Barclays Premier League points at home all season and sit top of the table on Christmas Day for the first time since 1929.

Having also ended the club’s 35-year-old trophy drought by winning the FA Cup in May, Kompany is more than happy with their progress and is optimistic they will have more to celebrate by the end of the campaign.

He said: “This year in particular has certainly been proof of the fact we’re going about it the right way and that’s the main thing for us. I almost feel like I want to wait before I talk so much, but I really have a gut feeling that tells me that this is the season for us.

“It’s not based on the fact that I’m being pretentious because of the players we have in the team or the money that has been spent. It’s not about this.

“I feel we have a very good team spirit. This is something probably is the thing people don’t expect as much in our team.

“The fact I see it every single day motivates me even more because I believe we’ve got it more than what people see and what people think.”

Kompany credits Mancini for the improvements made at City, saying the Italian’s “obsession” with getting better has driven the players on.

“He’s a very passionate man – there’s no mistake about that,” the Belgium defender added. “What you see on the touchline is the man you get. He knows his football. He’s obsessed – in the same way a lot of players are in our team – with victory and getting better and making sure that even when we win we’re not looking back on the positive things but also on the things that went wrong so we can improve.”

Sergio Aguero be rested for either today’s trip to West Brom and the New Year’s Day excursion to Sunderland. That would require Dzeko to recover from the ankle injury that kept him out of the Stoke win.