Man City’s Aguero, Hart eye Stoke game

With the title race taking shape and City at the pinnacle of it, every game is arguably a must win.

“It will be four to eight weeks, maybe more“, Bilic said. By the time referee Robert Madley signalled for half-time, Divock Origi had given Liverpool a two-goal cushion, touching the ball in as Alberto Moreno took a shot at goal from the edge of the area.

The defeat leaves Swansea four points above the relegation zone after a run of one win in 11 Premier League games.

But there remain doubts over a lengthening list of stars, most notably Yaya Toure who also missed out on the loss to Stoke after picking up a muscle injury in training last week.

Stoke could have won the game more comfortably, with Arnautovic squandering several chances to complete his hat-trick, and produced some scintillating football despite the swirling wind at the Britannia Stadium. “Credit to Stoke – I thought they deserved to win”.

Chelsea will be out to continue their revival when they host struggling Bournemouth in the late game of the day.

The Belgium global moved to the Etihad for £54.5m – the second highest transfer fee ever paid by a British club – and was immediately thrust into action for his City debut following an injury to Sergio Aguero his side’s 1-0 over Crystal Palace in early September.

While their defence has not been up to the mark, City have had a lot of joy going forward.

Pellegrini has now made all three substitutions as he tries to add pace to his team.

The draw to determine their next opponents took place after the match, and Liverpool ended up with a familiar foe they’ve already faced in the league this season. The Sky Blues have won nine of them, including a FA Cup final in 2011.

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart says his team-mates can not hide behind the injury absence of captain Vincent Kompany or any other excuses after they slumped to a 2-0 loss at Stoke City.

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Swansea looked a little better in the second half, exerting a slightly greater presence in the box, but despite chances for Bafetimbi Gomis and Gylfi Sigurdsson there was no coming back from Mahrez’s third goal and fresh questions will be asked of Monk’s position.