Mario Balotelli and David Silva will miss Manchester City's clash at Arsenal tomorrow but the club are close to boosting their firepower with a deal for Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko imminent.
Striker Balotelli and midfielder Silva have both suffered knee injuries and are expected to be out for one and two weeks respectively.
"It is a big problem," said manager Roberto Mancini. "Neither of them will be available to play at Arsenal."
Balotelli scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa last week while Silva has been a growing influence at City.
"David's been an important player for us and has been doing well recently," said Mancini. "Hopefully, he will be back for the Wolves game on January 15. Mario might be back for the FA Cup tie at Leicester on Sunday."
Mancini is confident of completing a deal for Wolfsburg striker Dzeko, who was top scorer in the Bundesliga last term.
It is thought he will cost in excess of £20million and Mancini said: "We have agreed a fee. All the teams in Europe want him."
City go to Emirates second in the table but Mancini claimed his side are still outsiders in the title race.
The manager said: "Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham all have more experience than us. Probably one of those four teams will win the title. We just want to improve."
