The arrival of Roberto Mancini at Eastland, coupled with the sheer number of options he has available to him, was always going to make us fantasy managers wary of considering City players. The form of Carlos Tevez however is looking irresistible.

The Argentine striker has now scored seven goals in his last six league starts and has apparently cemented his starting role in the City side as a result. Throw in the fact that Adebayor is off in Angola, far away from the possibility of stealing his pitch time and bonus points, plus a very healthy looking fixture list throughout January, and in Tevez you appear to have the perfect Drogba replacement at a very decent price…

The only real doubt would be the concern that the Tevez points boat has sailed. His returns of late are without question but can he maintain such form. The good news is, looking at the fixtures and his current role in the City side, it’s hard to see a dip in fortunes.

Tevez has started the last seven league games for City and Mancini has continued that trend, allowing the hard-working striker to lead the attack with Robinho or Bellamy in support. Given the fact that Adeabyor is away at the African Cup of Nations and Santa Cruz is still nursing niggles, it’s hard to see Tevez rotated to the bench for league games in his current form.

City’s fixtures also fall right into his lap. He now faces a very kind run of opponents from gameweek 21, right through until gameweek 27 when City host Liverpool (BLA eve stk POR hul BOL). That run will surely see Tevez continue his impressive form, with goals, assists and bonus points all looking likely.

Price isn’t an obstacle either. Tevez has seen a recent rise in the Fantasy Premier League game but is still available for 8.7 – a very reasonable mid-price proposition that offers plenty of excess cash to those looking for a Drogba replacement.

The City striker arrives on the Watchlist with a bullet then, and looks likely to remain their throughout a potentially profitable January.