Javi Garcia refuses to accept Manchester United are 15 points better than Manchester City.
Garcia has resigned himself to the fact that United will reclaim the title won so dramatically by the Blues with the final kick of last season.
But the 26-year-old certainly isn't prepared to concede that Sir Alex Ferguson's men are in a league of their own.
"None of us can believe that we are so far behind United," said Garcia. "Of course, we have to be sporting and say that the club who finishes top always deserve to be champions, but at City we really don't feel that the points differential as it stands is a true reflection of the merits of the two teams.
"We won't be going to Old Trafford feeling inferior. We will be going there with something to prove - both to ourselves as players and to the fans of both clubs.
"I can't explain why we are so far behind, apart from the simple reason that we have lost and drawn matches against the so-called lesser teams."