Roberto Mancini was in a mischievous mood on Friday morning when he arrived for his pre-match press conference wearing a mask of Manchester City coach David Platt.
Platt stood in for the Italian's briefing last week and has also conducted several post-match interviews with the BBC's Match of the Day programme this season.
Despite being subjected to criticism with the Citizens on the brink of Champions League elimination, Mancini showed his lighter side ahead of their 12th Premier League game of the season.
City are at home to Aston Villa on Saturday, who eliminated them from the Capital One Cup at Eastlands in September.
A win will see unbeaten City go top for a couple of hours at least, with leaders United kicking off at Norwich City in Saturday's tea time fixture.