City’s title defence is already virtually over, with victory at Old Trafford unlikely to halt the Red Devils’ march towards the title, and Garcia is struggling to fathom how his side fell so far behind the league leaders.

But, despite Sir Alex Ferguson’s side’s dominance this season, the former Real Madrid and Benfica midfielder feels there is little to choose between the two sides.

"None of us can believe we are so far behind United," Garcia told the The Mirror.

"Of course, we have to be sporting and say that the club who finishes top always deserve to be champions, but at City we really don’t feel that the point differential as it stands is a true reflection of the merits of the two teams.

"We won’t be going to Old Trafford feeling inferior. We will be going there with something to prove - both to ourselves as players and to the fans of both clubs.

"I can’t explain why we are so far behind, apart from the simple reason that we have lost and drawn matches against the so-called lesser teams.

"We have been involved in too many crazy matches and that has come back to bite us on the backside.

"City proved when they won the title last season that they are a close match for United - and we still think that is the case."