Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has suggested that he will select Costel Pantilimon in next month's FA Cup final clash with Wigan Athletic.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper has been picked ahead of City's regular number one Joe Hart throughout the competition, having conceded just his first goal of the club's cup run in yesterday's 2-1 semi-final win over Chelsea.

With City chasing their last remaining honour of the season, Mancini has indicated that he will continue to show faith in the Romanian when his side meet Roberto Martinez's men at Wembley on May 11.

"Costel did very well," Mancini told Sky Sports following victory over current FA Cup holders Chelsea. "He is a good keeper and he deserves this situation because he has been here for two years and has done very well behind Joe Hart. It is a good situation for Joe too.

"We have four weeks to the final but I think it will be this (Pantilimon)."

Costel Pantilimon
Pantilimon in line for starting spot in FA Cup final.

With City 15 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United and just seven games remaining, the FA Cup represents Mancini's last opportunity to bring some silverware back to the Etihad Stadium this season. Although his side claimed a well-earned victory over their city rivals last week, the former Inter Milan coach maintains that this season will go down as a largely unsatisfying one, with or without a FA Cup triumph.

"Our target at the start of the season was the Premier League and FA Cup," Mancini added.

"We knew the Champions League would be difficult because we had a difficult group.

"We had a chance to win another Premier League if we worked well last summer. But we didn't. We made some mistakes.

"We are frustrated about that. United deserve to win this title but we deserve to fight until the last two or three games.

"We know we are a good team. We want to win the FA Cup final and we have a chance to finish second and show we don't deserve to be 15 points behind. This is our target."

City will welcome their FA Cup final opponents to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.

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