Manuel Pellegrini promises strongest possible Manchester City line up for Capital One Cup



Manuel Pellegrini will be looking to win the Capital One Cup for the second time

MANUEL PELLEGRINI will again field the strongest Manchester City team he has available on Wednesday in a bid to make progress in the Capital One Cup.

 

Pellegrini’s decision to play a strong team in the previous round at Sunderland when they won 4-1 was questioned when they crashed City to a Premier League defeat by the same scoreline at Tottenham a few days later.

But that will not deter him from playing the majority of his stars against Crystal Palace in a fourth round tie at the Etihad Stadium.

The Capital One Cup holds a special place in Pellegrini’s heart because when he lifted it in 2013 in his first season as City boss it was the first major trophy he had won as a manager since arriving in Europe in 2004 to take over at La Liga club Villareal.

 

He is also under pressure to meet the target of five trophies in five seasons laid down by City's Abu Dhabi heriarchy when he was appointed. So far he has won two in two seasons.

Pellegrini said: “[The Tottenham defeat] won’t change my mindset. We are trying to have a starting line-up that is the best we can have at this moment.

“It’s not easy because we have so many players injured. Maybe a few players are playing a lot of games. But for our team it’s important to try to continue in the Capital One Cup and try to do it tomorrow at home.

With Aguero out, Pellegrini may give Kelechi Iheanacho a start

Manchester City lifted the Capital One Cup in 2014

“[The Capital One Cup] is not only special for me, it’s important for the group. We are talking yesterday about this cup and the other cups here in England.

“When you play a cup final at Wembley with 90,000 people it’s a very important cup. It’s important to try to continue in the competition.

“When you have a strong squad, it’s good for the players who, for different reasons, aren’t playing. Maybe that’s not the case for us at this moment because we have many injured players. But it’s important for the players also to play in the competition."

 

Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Gael Clich and Fabian Delph are all still sidelined for City.

Pellegrini is set to give young Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho – who scored City’s winner in the League game at Selhurst Park earlier this season – his first start.