Pellegrini vows to attack leaders

   

  

Pellegrini vows to attack leaders

Man City manager promises to take the game to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this evening

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says his team will go to Stamford Bridge with only one goal in mind: to beat Chelsea and close the gap to the leaders of the Barclays Premier League to two points.

"I always play to win the game"
Manuel Pellegrini

Chelsea are five points ahead of the champions in second place and Pellegrini is not afraid of risking going for the victory, even if could lead to defeat and the widening of the deficit to eight points.

"I always play to win the game," the City manager said in his press conference on Friday. "I think if you want to draw, I think normally you lose."

Pellegrini is expecting Chelsea to adopt a cautious approach, similar to the one they took at the Ethad Stadium when the two sides played out a 1-1 draw, but he downplayed the idea that if City lost their reign as champions would be all but over saying it is "not the game that will decide the title".

"I expect a very good Chelsea," he said. "A good defensive team that presses high, who are very good at counter-attacks. We'll have to stick to our plan and try to move the ball fast. We'll be an offensive [attacking] team as always."

Costa out

Jose Mourinho's gameplan is likely to be shaped by the absence of his star striker after Diego Costa was ruled out of the top-of-the-table contest with a three-match ban by The Football Association. 

Costa was charged with violent conduct for an on-field incident involving Emre Can during Chelsea's Capital One Cup semi-final win over Liverpool on Tuesday, a charge which the Spain forward had denied. On Friday The FA announced that the case against him was found proven, meaning the 26-year-old will also miss the BPL matches against Aston Villa and Everton.

Mourinho must therefore decide between Didier Drogba or Loic Remy to play up front against the champions while his influential midfielder Cesc Fabregas is also a doubt for the Man City fixture after limping out of the Liverpool match with a hamstring injury.

Chelsea established their commandng lead at the top after City were held at Everton and lost to Arsenal having previously pulled level with Mourinho's side thanks to a strong run of festive results.

The late kick-off at Stamford Bridge provides the champions' first chance to respond to last weekend's FA Cup elimination at the hands of Championship side Middlesbrough, with Chelsea also rebuilding confidence in the wake of a stunning 4-2 defeat by Bradford City.

Pellegrini has his own star striker, Sergio Aguero, fit and firing after a knee injury, although Frank Lampard's return to Stamford Bridge is another talking-point. Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer joined City in in the summer and scored their equaliser in September's 1-1 draw between the sides at the Etihad Stadium.

Lampard return

Lampard was regardless handed a warm reception by Chelsea's fans that day, with another generous welcome expected on his return to west London – which could come from the start in City's midfield.

"We played without Yaya in Rome and qualified and against Bayern Munich in the Champions League"
Manuel Pellegrini

Any hopes Pellegrini may have held of having Yaya Toure back in his midfield were dashed on Wednesday by Ivory Coast's progression in the Africa Cup of Nations, but the City manager is philosophical about the midfielder's absence even if they have failed to win any of the four BPL matches he has missed this season.

"It is up to other players to demonstrate what they can do," he said on Friday. "Yaya is a very important player for us but I was not decided if he was eliminated from the African Cup to come and play here two days after because I do not think it is the correct way to do it.

"We played without Yaya in Rome and qualified and against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. So he is a very important player. The same for Diego Costa but I don't think they decide that both teams depend on just those players."

City's Samir Nasri could return to the bench following a calf injury while centre-back Eliaquim Mangala also faces a fitness test after picking up a shoulder problem. Winger Scot Sinclair, meanwhile, is no longer at the club after completing a loan move to Aston Villa on Friday.

Mourinho, meanwhile, has concerns in his defence with Filipe Luis (calf) and match-winner Branislav Ivanovic (foot) sustaining injuries in midweek.

Chelsea (from): Blackman, Cech, Courtois, Ake, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Filipe, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Fabregas, Hazard, Matic, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Salah, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Remy, Schurrle, Solanke.

Manchester City (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Sagna, Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Fernando, Lampard, Milner, Navas, Silva, Sinclair, Aguero, Dzeko, Jovetic.