That’s not to say their season has been flawless.
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Liverpool’s city rivals Everton, who have never won the League Cup, face 2014 winners Manchester City in the other semi-final.
However, their progress has been otherwise steady, and their current position needs to be placed in its proper context.
Manchester City: Caballero; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy; Delph, Fernandinho; Navas (Sterling 62), Silva (Demichelis 83), De Bruyne; Bony (Iheanacho 71).
His intention was evident in a team selection that saw just five changes from the weekend, in comparison to the seven made by Hull.
And so it continues.
“[Pablo] Zabaleta and Kompany are out [for the weekend]”, he said.
Stoke also had playmaker Shaqiri, who set up both goals with superb individual quality, and goalkeeper Jack Butland, who produced two decent first-half saves, to thank for an impressive victory.
“We only had 72 hours to recover (from the 3-1 win over Southampton) so it was a very good answer from all the squad”, said City boss Pellegrini, whose side are also through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
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.
“No, I don’t think so, “he added”.
“The most important thing was to qualify”, City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, “but it was important for him to have 80 minutes after a long injury”.
Pellegrini was impressed with his side, particularly given the number of games they have played in a short space of time. I think this is very generous considering how good Manchester City are going forward so there the bet I am going to be making is Manchester City -1.
With the top 10 separated by just nine points, this season is shaping up to be one of the most open in recent history and that means no room for error from the top teams.
The Blues will meet Manchester City only a week after the first leg at the Etihad in the Premier League on January 13.
Pellegrini has refused to rule out the prospect of leading his side to a clean sweep of trophies this season.
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United had the most support of Premier League fans in China at 31.98 percent, followed by Arsenal with 22.65 percent, then Chelsea with a similar share, according Gu Xin, an analyst at Beijing sports marketing company Yutang Sports. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
