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| Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City still need to improve in certain postitions |
MANUEL PELLEGRINI has admitted he still wants to bolster Manchester City’s squad with two more signings before the transfer window slams shut.
City have been chasing Wolfburg’s Kevin de Bruyne this summer and have also been linked with Barcelona attacker Pedro.
Pellegrini – whose side host champions Chelsea on Sunday at the Etihad – has spent £49m on Raheem Sterling, but believes it will be important to bring in further reinforcements if he is wrestle the title from Jose Mourinho.
“I think as strong as your squad is you have more possibilities,” said Pellegrini, who has yet to beat Mourinho in four Premier League head-to-heads.
“We have a good squad at this moment, but if we can improve it in a couple of positions it is better.
“You have another option and more possibilities, although it doesn’t mean you are going to win because you have one or two players more.
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| Pellegrini is yet to beat Jose Mourinho in his last four Premier League meetings |
“But is important to have a strong squad because all the other teams also have strong squads.”
City will boast a five point lead over Chelsea if they overcome Mourinho’s side, but Pellegrini sought to downplay the significance of that.
“We are not thinking about the title in the second game but we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions,” he said.
“They were the best team last season and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title, the same as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, all the big teams.
“So to try and win the three points at home is very important for our team.”
It will be the first game played at the new expanded Etihad Stadium which now boasts an increased capacity of 55,000.
Some 6,000 extra seats have been added to the South Stand and 1,500 seats around the pitch so supporters are closer to the action.
Pellegrini must decide whether Sergio Aguero should start after his Copa America commitments with Argentina in the summer restricted him to a substitutes’ cameo against West Brom last Monday.
Aguero’s recent campaigns have been punctuated by injury and the striker knows the importance of not taking any risks with his fitness.
“Whether I start or not remains to be seen,” said Aguero. “I’m trying to get there and be in top condition, but arriving for pre-season later having taken part in the Copa America with Argentina means I need some additional time.
“With the whole season in mind, what matters the most is that I get in top form and don’t take any risks.
“One thing you can say about the Premier League is that every year, it gets better.
“Once again, many teams have made very important additions and that means there’s no single rival for us this season.
“It’d be very naive to think that Chelsea will be the only team competing for the top position - there will be many of us and each one will challenge in their own style.
“We’ll stay hungry for glory, we’ll do our jobs, we’ll win all we possibly can and see where that takes us.
“Beating Chelsea would be fantastic because it’s always better to have a head start, but I don’t think we should focus on just the early stages.
“The season is long, we have to be ready from the word go to the very end and try to maintain as much momentum as much as possible.”
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