.City face Sunderland at the Etihad on Wednesday evening with Pellegrini's side having failed to score in their last two games, which have yielded a single point in total. Although the manager mentioned injuries to Sergio Agüero, Matija Nastasic, Samir Nasri, Álvaro Negredo, Fernandinho, Javi García and Edin Dzeko, he said this was not a justification.
"It is not an excuse – I see a reality," Pellegrini said. "In the same position we have three players, all strikers, who are not 100%. And in another position we have Fernandinho and Javi García out, it is just bad luck at this moment of the season. That is not an excuse for why we didn't win both games.
"It's not a weakness in our squad but some bad luck to lose two or three players in the same positions." Regarding Nasri, who is recovering from a knee injury, being available for Tuesday evening's Champions League encounter with Barcelona at the Etihad, Pellegrini said: "We will see in the next few days, up until Saturday. I think there is a chance."
Agüero, who has a hamstring problem, and Fernandinho, who has a muscle issue, will not recover in time. "I don't think so," said the manager
Toure set for deep-lying role against Sunderland
The Ivorian will feature further back in Manuel Pellegrini's team at the Etihad on Wednesday evening in the absence of both Fernandinho and Javi Garcia.
Yaya Toure will again be asked to play in a deep-lying role as City seek to return to winning ways tonight.
The Blues take on Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium tonight after failing to score in consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years in the home defeat by Chelsea and the bore draw at Norwich on Saturday.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini, who will again be without top goalscorer Sergio Aguero, is concerned that his other three strikers are not firing on all cylinders - Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko through niggling injury, and Stevan Jovetic because he is still short of match fitness
His highest scorer after Aguero, Negredo and Dzeko is Toure, with 15 goals, but the Chilean says he will again be asked to sit deep.
Toure played in that role at Norwich, as City failed to show the same cutting edge as they have displayed all season.
His central midfield partner James Milner was given a roving brief, but the Blues lacked punch in the final third of the pitch.
There is a theory that Pellegrini is preparing for next Tuesday’s visit of Barcelona in the Champions League, when he is again likely to be without Fernandinho and still has a doubt over Javi Garcia.
Whatever his thinking, Pellegrini confirmed that he is set to ask Toure - who cut a frustrated figure and risked FA sanction with a bad-tempered kick at Norwich’s Ricky van Wolswinkel late in the game - to play in the same role.
He experimented by playing Martin Demichelis in that role, alongside Toure, in the defeat by Chelsea, but says he feels that the defence suffers without Demichelis.
“Without Fernandinho and Javi Garcia, the only player that can do it is Yaya,” said Pellegrini. “Martin Demichelis can also do it, and did it very well against Chelsea, but with Demichelis and Kompany we have a strong defence, and defended very well against Newcastle and Norwich.
“Maybe if I have to change, we will see in the future but for the moment Yaya will stay there.
“Yaya is also very important going forward but when he was going forward, everyone was asking why he didn’t defend more!
“For the moment he will continue to play there, and we will see how we arrange the other things.”
This is precisely why Pellegrini wanted City to sign Brazilian defensive midfielder Fernando from Porto in the winter transfer window, to strengthen an area which has been further depleted by injuries to Fernandinho and Garcia.
Toure is possibly the most influential midfielder in the Premier League. He certainly heads the statistical list of central players who have had the most touches of the ball, with 2,011. That is over 200 more than the next highest, West Brom’s Youssouf Mulumbu, with 1,798.
Add in the fact that Toure is also the highest-scoring midfielder, with 15, and the stats back up the evidence provided by our eyes.
Pellegrini has hinted that he will rotate his strikers, which would mean Dzeko is in line for a start tonight, possibly alongside Jovetic.
Whichever two he perms from three, the message from Pellegrini is clear: “We need to start scoring again, and not only the strikers, because all of our players have been scoring goals,” he added.
City v Sunderland: Pick the team
“What seemed so easy is not so easy in every game, so I hope in the way we play we will continue scoring goals.
“It’s not normal to not score for two games in a row, but I hope in future this won’t continue.”
Pellegrini also swerved a verbal battle with Jose Mourinho after the Chelsea boss’s latest bout of vitriol aimed at City.
Mourinho has constantly carped about the Blues for a fortnight, implying that their approach to UEFA’s financial fair play is “dodgy”, saying they had been “lucky” with on-field decisions, and then trying to influence the FA panel which sat to decide whether Toure would face a charge over his indiscretion at Norwich.
Pellegrini said he would not go down the same road as Mourinho, an old foe from their days as rivals in Spain, although he did imply the Chelsea boss is being unfair.
“I don’t think it’s the way to do it,” he said.
“I don’t talk about other teams, whether the FA should suspend players from other teams, or whether the referee has given bad decisions for the other teams.
“I think the best way is to work with your team and leave the referees and the FA to do their work. The fair way to do it is for everyone to work with their own club.
“This is my way to act. I don’t think everyone should act the same way.
“I answered once what Mourinho says, because he was talking about the referees but I won’t be answering every week.”
owen-mcfc said:Hope garcias back for this, we've actually missed him
Marvin said:Guardian pre-match injury report
.City face Sunderland at the Etihad on Wednesday evening with Pellegrini's side having failed to score in their last two games, which have yielded a single point in total. Although the manager mentioned injuries to Sergio Agüero, Matija Nastasic, Samir Nasri, Álvaro Negredo, Fernandinho, Javi García and Edin Dzeko, he said this was not a justification.
"It is not an excuse – I see a reality," Pellegrini said. "In the same position we have three players, all strikers, who are not 100%. And in another position we have Fernandinho and Javi García out, it is just bad luck at this moment of the season. That is not an excuse for why we didn't win both games.
"It's not a weakness in our squad but some bad luck to lose two or three players in the same positions." Regarding Nasri, who is recovering from a knee injury, being available for Tuesday evening's Champions League encounter with Barcelona at the Etihad, Pellegrini said: "We will see in the next few days, up until Saturday. I think there is a chance."
Agüero, who has a hamstring problem, and Fernandinho, who has a muscle issue, will not recover in time. "I don't think so," said the manager
And MEN pre-match write-up <a class="postlink" href="http://w...chestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... le-6697003</a>Toure set for deep-lying role against Sunderland
The Ivorian will feature further back in Manuel Pellegrini's team at the Etihad on Wednesday evening in the absence of both Fernandinho and Javi Garcia.
Yaya Toure will again be asked to play in a deep-lying role as City seek to return to winning ways tonight.
The Blues take on Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium tonight after failing to score in consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years in the home defeat by Chelsea and the bore draw at Norwich on Saturday.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini, who will again be without top goalscorer Sergio Aguero, is concerned that his other three strikers are not firing on all cylinders - Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko through niggling injury, and Stevan Jovetic because he is still short of match fitness
His highest scorer after Aguero, Negredo and Dzeko is Toure, with 15 goals, but the Chilean says he will again be asked to sit deep.
Toure played in that role at Norwich, as City failed to show the same cutting edge as they have displayed all season.
His central midfield partner James Milner was given a roving brief, but the Blues lacked punch in the final third of the pitch.
There is a theory that Pellegrini is preparing for next Tuesday’s visit of Barcelona in the Champions League, when he is again likely to be without Fernandinho and still has a doubt over Javi Garcia.
Whatever his thinking, Pellegrini confirmed that he is set to ask Toure - who cut a frustrated figure and risked FA sanction with a bad-tempered kick at Norwich’s Ricky van Wolswinkel late in the game - to play in the same role.
He experimented by playing Martin Demichelis in that role, alongside Toure, in the defeat by Chelsea, but says he feels that the defence suffers without Demichelis.
“Without Fernandinho and Javi Garcia, the only player that can do it is Yaya,” said Pellegrini. “Martin Demichelis can also do it, and did it very well against Chelsea, but with Demichelis and Kompany we have a strong defence, and defended very well against Newcastle and Norwich.
“Maybe if I have to change, we will see in the future but for the moment Yaya will stay there.
“Yaya is also very important going forward but when he was going forward, everyone was asking why he didn’t defend more!
“For the moment he will continue to play there, and we will see how we arrange the other things.”
This is precisely why Pellegrini wanted City to sign Brazilian defensive midfielder Fernando from Porto in the winter transfer window, to strengthen an area which has been further depleted by injuries to Fernandinho and Garcia.
Toure is possibly the most influential midfielder in the Premier League. He certainly heads the statistical list of central players who have had the most touches of the ball, with 2,011. That is over 200 more than the next highest, West Brom’s Youssouf Mulumbu, with 1,798.
Add in the fact that Toure is also the highest-scoring midfielder, with 15, and the stats back up the evidence provided by our eyes.
Pellegrini has hinted that he will rotate his strikers, which would mean Dzeko is in line for a start tonight, possibly alongside Jovetic.
Whichever two he perms from three, the message from Pellegrini is clear: “We need to start scoring again, and not only the strikers, because all of our players have been scoring goals,” he added.
City v Sunderland: Pick the team
“What seemed so easy is not so easy in every game, so I hope in the way we play we will continue scoring goals.
“It’s not normal to not score for two games in a row, but I hope in future this won’t continue.”
Pellegrini also swerved a verbal battle with Jose Mourinho after the Chelsea boss’s latest bout of vitriol aimed at City.
Mourinho has constantly carped about the Blues for a fortnight, implying that their approach to UEFA’s financial fair play is “dodgy”, saying they had been “lucky” with on-field decisions, and then trying to influence the FA panel which sat to decide whether Toure would face a charge over his indiscretion at Norwich.
Pellegrini said he would not go down the same road as Mourinho, an old foe from their days as rivals in Spain, although he did imply the Chelsea boss is being unfair.
“I don’t think it’s the way to do it,” he said.
“I don’t talk about other teams, whether the FA should suspend players from other teams, or whether the referee has given bad decisions for the other teams.
“I think the best way is to work with your team and leave the referees and the FA to do their work. The fair way to do it is for everyone to work with their own club.
“This is my way to act. I don’t think everyone should act the same way.
“I answered once what Mourinho says, because he was talking about the referees but I won’t be answering every week.”
birchwoodgingerste said:Marvin said:Guardian pre-match injury report
.City face Sunderland at the Etihad on Wednesday evening with Pellegrini's side having failed to score in their last two games, which have yielded a single point in total. Although the manager mentioned injuries to Sergio Agüero, Matija Nastasic, Samir Nasri, Álvaro Negredo, Fernandinho, Javi García and Edin Dzeko, he said this was not a justification.
"It is not an excuse – I see a reality," Pellegrini said. "In the same position we have three players, all strikers, who are not 100%. And in another position we have Fernandinho and Javi García out, it is just bad luck at this moment of the season. That is not an excuse for why we didn't win both games.
"It's not a weakness in our squad but some bad luck to lose two or three players in the same positions." Regarding Nasri, who is recovering from a knee injury, being available for Tuesday evening's Champions League encounter with Barcelona at the Etihad, Pellegrini said: "We will see in the next few days, up until Saturday. I think there is a chance."
Agüero, who has a hamstring problem, and Fernandinho, who has a muscle issue, will not recover in time. "I don't think so," said the manager
And MEN pre-match write-up <a class="postlink" href="http://w...chestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... le-6697003</a>Toure set for deep-lying role against Sunderland
The Ivorian will feature further back in Manuel Pellegrini's team at the Etihad on Wednesday evening in the absence of both Fernandinho and Javi Garcia.
Yaya Toure will again be asked to play in a deep-lying role as City seek to return to winning ways tonight.
The Blues take on Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium tonight after failing to score in consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years in the home defeat by Chelsea and the bore draw at Norwich on Saturday.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini, who will again be without top goalscorer Sergio Aguero, is concerned that his other three strikers are not firing on all cylinders - Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko through niggling injury, and Stevan Jovetic because he is still short of match fitness
His highest scorer after Aguero, Negredo and Dzeko is Toure, with 15 goals, but the Chilean says he will again be asked to sit deep.
Toure played in that role at Norwich, as City failed to show the same cutting edge as they have displayed all season.
His central midfield partner James Milner was given a roving brief, but the Blues lacked punch in the final third of the pitch.
There is a theory that Pellegrini is preparing for next Tuesday’s visit of Barcelona in the Champions League, when he is again likely to be without Fernandinho and still has a doubt over Javi Garcia.
Whatever his thinking, Pellegrini confirmed that he is set to ask Toure - who cut a frustrated figure and risked FA sanction with a bad-tempered kick at Norwich’s Ricky van Wolswinkel late in the game - to play in the same role.
He experimented by playing Martin Demichelis in that role, alongside Toure, in the defeat by Chelsea, but says he feels that the defence suffers without Demichelis.
“Without Fernandinho and Javi Garcia, the only player that can do it is Yaya,” said Pellegrini. “Martin Demichelis can also do it, and did it very well against Chelsea, but with Demichelis and Kompany we have a strong defence, and defended very well against Newcastle and Norwich.
“Maybe if I have to change, we will see in the future but for the moment Yaya will stay there.
“Yaya is also very important going forward but when he was going forward, everyone was asking why he didn’t defend more!
“For the moment he will continue to play there, and we will see how we arrange the other things.”
This is precisely why Pellegrini wanted City to sign Brazilian defensive midfielder Fernando from Porto in the winter transfer window, to strengthen an area which has been further depleted by injuries to Fernandinho and Garcia.
Toure is possibly the most influential midfielder in the Premier League. He certainly heads the statistical list of central players who have had the most touches of the ball, with 2,011. That is over 200 more than the next highest, West Brom’s Youssouf Mulumbu, with 1,798.
Add in the fact that Toure is also the highest-scoring midfielder, with 15, and the stats back up the evidence provided by our eyes.
Pellegrini has hinted that he will rotate his strikers, which would mean Dzeko is in line for a start tonight, possibly alongside Jovetic.
Whichever two he perms from three, the message from Pellegrini is clear: “We need to start scoring again, and not only the strikers, because all of our players have been scoring goals,” he added.
City v Sunderland: Pick the team
“What seemed so easy is not so easy in every game, so I hope in the way we play we will continue scoring goals.
“It’s not normal to not score for two games in a row, but I hope in future this won’t continue.”
Pellegrini also swerved a verbal battle with Jose Mourinho after the Chelsea boss’s latest bout of vitriol aimed at City.
Mourinho has constantly carped about the Blues for a fortnight, implying that their approach to UEFA’s financial fair play is “dodgy”, saying they had been “lucky” with on-field decisions, and then trying to influence the FA panel which sat to decide whether Toure would face a charge over his indiscretion at Norwich.
Pellegrini said he would not go down the same road as Mourinho, an old foe from their days as rivals in Spain, although he did imply the Chelsea boss is being unfair.
“I don’t think it’s the way to do it,” he said.
“I don’t talk about other teams, whether the FA should suspend players from other teams, or whether the referee has given bad decisions for the other teams.
“I think the best way is to work with your team and leave the referees and the FA to do their work. The fair way to do it is for everyone to work with their own club.
“This is my way to act. I don’t think everyone should act the same way.
“I answered once what Mourinho says, because he was talking about the referees but I won’t be answering every week.”
How things change so quick beat sundeland and go top massive sychlogical boost for saturday knock chelsea out of fa cup then barca i will be cacking it happy days i say.
I could see them coming away with all three points actually.I Hart Man City said:birchwoodgingerste said:Marvin said:Guardian pre-match injury report
.
And MEN pre-match write-up <a class="postlink" href="http://w...chestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... le-6697003</a>
How things change so quick beat sundeland and go top massive sychlogical boost for saturday knock chelsea out of fa cup then barca i will be cacking it happy days i say.
Only go top if the rags don't lose to Arsenal away. They will lose.