Roberto Mancini will field the strongest side at his disposal in tomorrow’s FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough.

But the Blues boss has warned that injuries and fatigue will have a huge bearing on the eleven that starts the third round tie at the Riverside.

Mancini’s FA Cup bow will take place without more than £100million worth of buys as Joleon Lescott (knee), Wayne Bridge (knee), Roque Santa Cruz (calf), Nedum Onuoha (calf), Stephen Ireland (hamstring) and African Cup of Nations bound Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor all miss out.

In addition there is a question mark over Shaun Wright-Phillips who is battling an ankle injury.

“We are excited by the FA Cup. I know that in England it is a very important competition,” declared the new boss who is defending a 100% start to his reign and who is no stranger to knockout success in his homeland.

In Italy the cup is perhaps not taken so seriously until teams reach the semi final stages but here it is different

...Roberto Mancini

“I won the Coppa Italia six times as a player and four times as a manager with three different clubs and it would be great to think I could do that at City too.

“I will play the strongest team that I can but we have a lot of injuries. I will not be thinking about the match against United next week just what is best for the team and the players. There can be no risks taken with anyone who is not fully fit.

“We do not have a very big squad but we do have some young players who have been training with the first team and one or two might have to play.

“I know Middlesbrough will be a tough side to play on their own pitch and will see the tie as one where they can relax and try to take the scalp of a Premier League team. We don’t want that to happen; we want to make progress because we know that by the time of the fourth round we will be a lot stronger in terms of having injured players back.

“I have told the players that they should not be thinking about the semi final either. We must have full attention on the FA Cup and then prepare for the next game as soon as the final whistle goes.”

Youngsters Javan Vidal and Dedryck Boyata will retain their places in the squad and there could be a start for Vladimir Weiss. Mancini may also name other youth team products in his travelling party.