Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini expressed his satisfaction with the strength of the Citizens’ squad, as well as their position in the Premier League, Champions League and the Capital One Cup .
Despite being on the wrong end of a couple of shock 4-1 scorelines in the Premier League this season, Manchester City find themselves atop the league table, having already qualified for the UEFA Champions League knock-out stages, and having recently reached the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini is happy with how the season has progressed, and expects his squad to play the same style of football despite the forced changes the Chilean has to make due to injuries to several key players.
Pellegrini recognises importance of December and January
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the game, the Manchester City manager acknowledged the importance of the upcoming months in the Premier League, insisting that his squad is strong enough to deal with the challenges of a trying festive period.
Pellegrini is quoted by the City official website as saying: “I think December and January are critical months for the Premier League a ita s important to be near the top of the table before the Champions League starts again and youa re playing every few days.
“You have to play so many games, especially when you continue in the Capital One and we also start the FA Cup. We know and we see how strong the squad is as, in this moment, wea re in a strong position in so many competitions.
“I dona t think anyone can doubt how strong our squad is. The important thing is to try and play in the same way and thata s what wea re doing. Ia m very pleased with how things are going.
“It doesna t matter which names start as we will play the same style.”
Stoke City pose a different challenge
Addressing a question about Manchester City’s opponents on Saturday, Pellegrini suggested that Mark Hughes’ side have changed their style of play in recent seasons due to influx of more technical players like Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri.
“Last year they make a mix of styles a they try to not always play with high balls and just with crosses,” Pellegrini said. “They try to have more possession a by the characteristics of their players they still try to score with crosses but ita s a mix now.
a It will be a tough against an important team.a