Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from two successive defeats in the Premier League ahead of the trip to Germany, where they face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Chilean insisted in the press conference that he is positive about getting the three points despite his squad being hit by injury problems.
Skipper Vincent Kompany absence is a big blow, with him being one of the six players out. Kompany has a calf problem, while defender Gael Clichy and Eliaquim Mangala, midfielders Fabian Delph and Samir Nasri are all out.
Pellegrini said: “Of course Vincent is a very important player, he is our captain and he has started the season very well, but I dona t think one player is crucial.
a We have won the last six games of last season without Vincent. I think it is the amount of injuries we have had that has been the more important thing. We have a strong squad but it is not easy to sustain eleven injuries [at once].a said Pelligrini.
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The City boss also admitted that Kompany will not feature against Andorra in the 2016 Euro qualifier next week.
“I think it will be difficult for him to play for Belgium next week.”
One positive for City is that Yaya Toure and David Silva are both back in training after recovering from injuries.
The Manchester outfit lost their first group match against Juventus and will be eager to get a positive result against the German side, who also lost their first match against Seville. However, Pelligrini suggested that his team are up against tough opposition and it wouldn’t be easy to earn three points.
He added: a I expect a very good game against a very big club. We want to recover the points we dropped at home, but we must play with a very high quality. It is not a final but it is a very important game for us.a