Iheanacho Can’t Save City Against Rampant Stoke

Manuel Pellegrini has announced his Manchester City team that will take on Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium later this afternoon.

Stoke also had playmaker Shaqiri, who set up both goals with superb individual quality, and goalkeeper Jack Butland, who produced two decent first-half saves, to thank for an impressive victory.

“Maybe it’s the reason we didn’t play with the energy that we need to win”.

While no one expects Chelsea to be a relegation candidate, the team is now 17 points behind leader Leicester languishing in 14th place, with Bournemouth only two points behind the champions.

Arnautovic should have completed his hat-trick just before the halftime break, as he collected a pass from Shaqiri which played him through on goal, however he struck the upright with only Hart to beat.

Eliaquim Mangala will also boost City’s numbers after serving a suspension, but Pellegrini is clearly concerned about the impact the fixture list is having on his squad ahead of the busy Christmas period.

In a Premier League season where the usual narrative has been ripped up, there was no shortage of surprises on Saturday. They are getting back on the trail now after a decent 3-1 win against Southampton last week with Fabian Delph getting his first goal for the Cityzens.

Lately, they have been playing three games a week.

Fernando’s nightmare showing was cut short by a hamstring injury as Manchester City limped to the finish line with 10 men, Aleksandar Kolarov rippling the side netting in a fleeting display of defiance.

“I didn’t expect to play that much but we had a couple of injuries so I came into the side really early”, De Bruyne told Sky Sports News. “We had a game plan as we always do”.

“We went with something different today, pushing Bojan up front”.

United boss Louis van Gaal expressed his disappointment after his team drew 1-1 with Leicester. The Mancunians could have gone top of the table had they beaten Claudio Ranieri’s men at the King Power Stadium.

City just couldn’t handle the windy weather or a Stoke side which blew Pellegrini’s powder puffs away with consummate ease. That’s going to be very valuable against Stoke, even in their slightly more modern style they play these days.