Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City will take Saturday’s meeting with Stoke City as seriously as Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The Chilean’s side face Real in the Champions League semi-final opening leg next week and their 1-1 draw at Newcastle United on Tuesday night increased the importance of beating Stoke at the Etihad Stadium this weekend. Pellegrini’s team dropped to fourth following Arsenal’s win over West Bromwich Albion on Thursday.
City are on 61 points, two clear of Manchester United, and Pellegrini is clear that the focus must remain against Stoke.
He said: “It’s very important because we’re in the semi-finals but that doesn’t mean we’re not worried about the Premier League. All the big teams must always try and reach the final and be involved domestically to try to win it. For us it’s very important to get a spot for Champions League next year.”
Sergio Agüero scored City’s goal at Newcastle, taking him to 22 Premier League strikes for the season. He is two behind Harry Kane in the race to finish top scorer but Pellegrini may not rest the striker before Tuesday.
“Sergio is very important but I’m sure Real Madrid will play their best team [at Real Vallecano on Saturday] also because they are going for the league. So we are going to win that game [Stoke] with our best players.
“You always have risks of an injury. For big teams you cannot choose one competition. For some reason the big clubs can be knocked out. It’s important not to leave one competition.”
City have four league matches left and host Arsenal in the final home game on 8 May. Pellegrini said: “You need to win your own games. If we win our points we’re going to be third in the table. That’s why it’s important to play well. The pressure is exactly the same. The only way to do it is to win our games.”
David Silva is back in the 18 for Saturday’s game, while Vincent Kompany has had no reaction to playing from the start on Tyneside. “Silva is fit and he’s in the squad. I hope nothing will happen and there will be no problems. Vincent felt very good after the game. Nasri can’t recover 100% from his muscle injury. Next game I hope he’ll be OK. All of the rest of the squad is fit.”
On Friday night City play Chelsea at the Academy Stadium in the opening leg of the FA Youth Cup final, a repeat of last year’s showpiece which Chelsea won 5-3.
Pellegrini believes reaching the final is an indicator that City are developing home-grown, first-team squad ready footballers. He said: “The final means the club is working well with young players. Maybe you must be patient for some players to arrive because this team is always buying important players. The demand for this team is very high. I’m sure three or four of these players will be in the squad in a few years.
“You must try to do things at the same time – developing players and trying to be competitive with the first team. I am very optimistic. After that it’s dependant on the way the players improve. But the scouting for this group, the young players, is good.”
Speaking to Marca, Pellegrini said that Pep Guardiola’s arrival in the summer is “logical” and the former Barcelona manager would still have come to Manchester if Pellegrini had won a couple of Champions League titles.
“I don’t feel they have not valued my work here. On the contrary - there has been an advance in line with what the club wanted. I don’t believe they are changing me because they were expecting more. The club has always wanted to work with Guardiola, and that is logical, because they have a relationship from their time at Barcelona. Pep was on the market and it was clear they were going to take him when he became free. If I had won two Champions Leagues and two Premier Leagues, Guardiola would still have come.”
