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Yaya Toure declares himself fit for City's title run-in

Reuters

LONDON - Yaya Toure has declared himself fit for the final two matches of Manchester City's Premier League title push.

The Ivory Coast midfielder, a key figure in City's bid for the English championship trophy, was substituted during the second half of the 3-2 win over Everton.

However, City manager Manuel Pellegrini insisted Toure's early exit at Goodison Park had been a precaution to make sure his star man was fit for the games against Aston Villa on Wednesday and West Ham on Sunday.

Toure told League Cup winners' City's website on Monday: "It was very important I came off (against Everton).

"It has been difficult for me in a short space of time to recover from the injury I picked up at Liverpool and prepare physically.

"If you are not fully prepared it is very tough, because you have to be at 100 percent for these games and coming back is always difficult, especially at the end of the season, but I feel good."

Although City, who have a game in hand on title rivals Liverpool and Chelsea, will be favourites to win both matches, and so lift the Premier League trophy, Toure said his side would need to be at their best.

"Both Aston Villa and West Ham are sharp and will come to just enjoy the games, but we have a league to play for," the 30-year-old said.

"I hope we complete the job, but it depends how sharp we are, how we prepare mentally and physically.

"Our target was always to win something, but for us the League Cup is not enough. The Premier League was always our target, so now we need to do be at our optimum levels when Aston Villa come to our stadium on Wednesday."

He added: "We definitely expect to win it -- as a team at the top, you always expect to win.

"We have worked so hard this year and, if we don't win, it would be a massive disappointment for us, for the fans and for the club as well."

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