Pellegrini denies Kompany void reason for City slip

Manuel Pellegrini’s long-term job prospects at Manchester City appear as flimsy as the plastic shopping bags that were being blown around the Britannia Stadium at Stoke on Saturday.

City, who finished the match with 10 men after midfielder Fernando limped off following his side’s third substitution, began the day top of the table on goal difference but a fourth away game without a win – and the third in a row without a goal – conceded the initiative to the chasing pack.

He said: “I always say I prefer to play with the whole squad then I can choose the best XI starters, but if the starting XI has six or seven players injured we must make a balance of the whole season”.

However impressive City’s defensive displays may have been without Kompany last season, the same can not be said of their form without him in the current campaign.

“I do not agree”. Though finishing first place in Group D does not assure playing the second placed team in Group C, it would be a very important boost for Manchester City to finish in first place to underscore the importance Manchester City has in the Champions League, even though it has failed to advance the Round of 16 on several occasions.

However, they have a chance to swiftly bounce back against Monchengladbach in their final Champions League pool match at the Etihad Stadium. They have kept four clean sheets in these 33 games.

“Credit to Stoke, they are strong at home and the conditions suited their style of play and they had a good performance”. We hope [he can resume training], but we must see how he improves.

Manuel Pellegrini claims injuries have crippled Manchester City as they prepare for Champions League action on the back of a dismal 2-0 defeat at Stoke. Aguero has missed his side’s last two games with a heel problem while Kompany has not played since November with a calf injury and the pair are doubtful for the upcoming festive period, which includes a trip to fellow Premier League title contenders Arsenal.

Borussia Moenchengladbach is the talk of the town after becoming the first team to beat Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

“Maybe you can defend better with eight or nine players near our box but it is not the way we play”.

“I think, in this case, the fourth [striker] should be Kelechi”.

He said: “It will be the fifth game we play in 14 days, and for the last two we had less than 72 hours to recover”. Hughes, meanwhile, has built an exciting, creative team that can take the next step in this division if Shaqiri settles and Arnautovic finds consistency.

Following on from Stoke City’s impressive win over Manchester City at the weekend, manager Mark Hughes is convinced that his club can attract the finest players from around the world.

Bacary Sagna will start his ninth successive game and the France full-back insists the players are not exhausted as they compete on four fronts. “We need to react to our loss at Stoke so this is an opportunity for us to do that quickly”, De Bruyne told the official City website.