Manuel Pellegrini vows to stick with attacking mentality

It is understood that Aguero is also likely to miss Saturday’s league game against Swansea and Pellegrini said: ‘It is an injury that he can not work on. It is not a serious injury but it is a pain injury.

“We were playing with the same players as the last three games and that maybe is the reason why we didn’t play with the energy we need to win”, Pellegrini said.

Pellegrini is uncertain when influential captain Kompany might be back in contention.

“All the important clubs in Europe have a lot of injuries”, said Bacary Sagna ahead of the game. He is doing some tests with his calf.

“He has been carrying some problem in his back the last week, so tomorrow we will see with the doctor which is the problem with Joe”.

But Pellegrini will be forced to call again on an injury-hit squad after midfielder Fernando limped off at the Britannia Stadium with a hamstring problem to join the growing list of casualties.

Sergio Aguero is also still sidelined, along with Fernando, for the Borussia Monchengladbach game as the striker continues to feel the effects of his sore heel.

City worrying run of form has included a heavy home loss to Liverpool while a surprise defeat at Stoke on Saturday knocked them off the top of the Premier League table.

“If you want to be the most important people in football or one of the most important, you must be able to bring all the best players here”, he told reporters. “You can not have a conclusion after one game”.

With Kompany struggling to shake off the habit of picking up muscle injuries, Martin Demichelis – missing through injury – Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala must find better form if City’s season is to end successfully.

“I repeat, in the way this team play I will not change because I think, in this moment, we are the most successful team here this season”.

“We can not protect the players because we must try to win the game to finish top of the group”, said Pellegrini. You can talk about tactics but the guys need to go out there and execute them and that is what we did.

City must win and hope that group leaders Juventus lose away to Sevilla if they are to finish first in the group, but with a place in the last 16 already secure and a glut of injuries to occupy his thoughts, manager Manuel Pellegrini is not putting any pressure on his players. In the forward position, Wilfried Bony will start as cover for the still injured Sergio Aguero, who is about 15-20 days away from fitness.

The only two times the English club has been runner-up in its group, it has been drawn to play Barcelona in the next round – and was eliminated both occasions.

“If we don’t win, I think we qualify but not in the way we wanted”.