After a draw with rock-bottom Aston Villa and a thumping home defeat by Liverpool, Manchester City got back to winning ways against Southampton and are the first of the top four in action on Saturday when they travel to Stoke in a lunchtime kickoff. “The most important thing is to be involved in all the competitions at this stage”.
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Despite City’s early dominance, Stoke went ahead after six minutes, as Xherdan Shaqiri did well to get to the byline, before whipping the ball into the box for Arnautovic to tap home from six-yards out.
If they keep their top players fit, I’d fancy them in any given game against anyone. However, looking good against a Championship side in the Cup and looking good against a physical team like Stoke are two different matters. Even though Stoke are just 12th in the Premier League right now, they’re always a tough opponent, and just one win could put them into the thick of the chase for a Europa League spot. Young players show everyday they are maybe not 100 per cent ready to play every game.
Bojan Krkic shoots past Manchester City’s Joe Hart.
The competitiveness of the Premier League this season is largely a result of huge improvements at the likes of Everton and Stoke, with the latter boasting three Champions League winners in their squad.
Manchester City are without Yaya Toure, Pablo Zabaleta and captain Vincent Kompany, but David Silva does start, giving Manuel Pellegrini at least some glimmer of light in a team depleted by injuries and suspensions. “It doesn’t surprise me that amount of finance that has been thrown at it. They have ability now because they are viewed as a world club, whereas previously when I was there it was a mid-table Premier League club if we’re honest”. However, Pellegrini is in danger of holding a player back who appears nailed on to become a first-team regular.
“I am not concerned about why we didn’t bring in another player because we have Kelechi, we have Raheem who can also play forward, so no problem”.
Hughes said forwards Peter Crouch and Peter Odemwingie both have hamstring injuries and are unavailable.
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Liverpool striker Divock Origi is confident that his teammates can “100%” beat Stoke City in the Capital One Cup semi-final, but admits the Potters are a “good team”, as reported by the club’s official website.
