David Silva

Manchester City midfielder David Silva has spoken of his concern about the damage Fernando Torres could do when they face Liverpool.

The top four rivals do battle on Monday at Eastlands, with a result either way bound to give belief to both sides that they can mount a challenge for the Premier League title.

Torres came off the bench in the Reds' Europa League victory over Trabzonspor on Thursday, and looked a threat immediately to demonstrate that he may be ready to start after returning to fitness.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has acknowledged that new siging David Silva has not yet adjusted to English football.

The Spaniard was part of the City side which sealed its place in the group stages of the Champions League with a comfortable win over FC Timisoara. But Mancini admits that the winger still needs more time to become a regular Premier League performer.

"Silva needs time. He's a fantastic player, but playing in the Premier League is different to La Liga," the Italian told his club's official website.

The first thing that strikes you, other than – no kidding – the darkest eyes you have ever seen, is how small he is, almost Lilliputian. When Roberto Mancini paraded his first four summer signings at a press conference last week he said he had brought in Yaya Touré, Aleksandar Kolarov and Jérôme Boateng, in part, because of their power and size. Then he turned to David Silva, sitting to his right, put his arm around him and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "Maybe not David," he said, "but this a fantastic footballer. You know, I wanted to sign this guy five years ago for Internazionale. He has kept me waiting."

The strange thing is that, as yet, Silva's arrival in England has not fired the public's imagination as might have been anticipated. Perhaps it is a legacy of the World Cup, where he started only the first match for Spain. Or maybe it was that the signing was agreed in the final week of June, when everyone was fixated on the events in South Africa.

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