Manuel Pellegrini has warned his Manchester City players they must focus on beating Stoke City or risk having no Champions League football next season.
City face Real Madrid in Tuesday evening’s Champions League semi-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium but Pellegrini wants his side to remain focused. He hopes to have a fully fit David Silva for the first time since the player suffered ankle damage playing for Spain in early October.
City’s 1-1 draw at Newcastle United on Tuesday night increased the importance of defeating Mark Hughes’s side at the Etihad Stadium in Saturday’s early kick-off. Pellegrini’s team dropped to fourth place following Arsenal’s win over West Bromwich Albion on Thursday. City are on 61 points, two ahead of Manchester United with four games left.
Although City could still qualify for next year’s Champions League by winning this season’s trophy, Pellegrini is clear that the best way to do so is via a top-four finish.
“All of them want to play the Champions League next year also,” he said of his squad. “Not just leave the Premier League out and just think about the Champions League because that has important consequences for the future. The same players will not play in the Champions League if they think in that way. So I’m sure that none of them are thinking nothing more than to win against Stoke. Then we are going to start talking about Madrid.”
Pellegrini has in mind the XI he would like to field against Real but players could still force their way in by performing against Stoke. “Yes I have an idea,” he said. “After that there’s a lot things that can happen from now until Tuesday. I think the performance of the players is always very important.
“Maybe you have an [ideal] starting XI but after that you must see the performance of the players. So after that until the last day I can make some changes. I hope we are happy with the performance of the players on Saturday and we can start on Tuesday with the team I think can do best on Tuesday.”
In the reverse fixture Stoke recorded a resounding 2-0 victory. “It was a very difficult day I remember, with a strong wind, and was difficult for the players to play,” Pellegrini said. “They did it very well and I haven’t seen Stoke play the same way in the whole year as they did that day.”
Of Silva he added: “David had a problem during the season after he played with his national squad because he received a very strong kick in his bone. It was a hard kick that can never recover 100% [quickly]. I hope with the last treatment he is 100% fit and he won’t need any more problems in the future.”
