Kolo Toure believes Manchester City will head into Wednesday’s derby in the ‘perfect frame of mind’ following the win over West Bromwich Albion.
City ended a run of three successive defeats in all competitions with a 2-0 success at The Hawthorns on Sunday courtesy of Mario Balotelli’s first Premier League goals.
The victory enabled City to close to within five points of leaders Chelsea and Roberto Mancini’s side next face local rivals United in midweek.
Toure is expecting a difficult test at home on Wednesday evening, but believes City will head into the encounter in a confident mood.
Massive game
“It was really important we beat West Brom because it’s very difficult for a team with aspirations of challenging at the top to lose three games in a row,” Toure told the club’s official website.
“This win has made us very happy and put us in the perfect frame of mind ahead of Wednesday’s derby.
“We deserved to win because we started the game really well and were passing the ball round nicely. We controlled most of the match and scored goals at important times.
“It’s been a good weekend for us with so many teams around us dropping points, but the season is really long and now we have to focus on our next game.
“The derby is a massive game for us and it will be really hard because they are a very strong team, but we will go out to win the match and enjoy it.”
City’s match-winner at West Brom – Balotelli – was sent off in the second half and Toure expects the Italian striker to learn from the experience.
He added: “I’m pleased for Mario that he has scored two goals, but obviously the sending off made things harder for us, but we were strong and after we dealt with their spell of pressure, the game was as good as over.
“He needs to learn that the tackles are hard and the referees more lenient, but he will get used to it and love it as much as we all do.
“What happened to him could happen to any player and as I say, he will learn from it.”
