Samir Nasri is back in the Manchester City squad for Newcastle’s visit in Wednesday’s Capital One Cup fourth-round tie. The Frenchman has recovered quicker than expected from a groin problem, having last played on 17 September against Bayern Munich.
“Nasri is working normally and is in the squad list for tomorrow,” said Manuel Pellegrini, who stated that the Frenchman might begin on the bench. Frank Lampard is City’s only injured player.
“Lampard is out [with a muscle problem], all the other players in the squad are fit,” the manager added. “I don’t think Frank will be fit for the weekend but maybe he can be fit for next week.”
With the Manchester derby on Sunday to consider plus next week’s Champions League group match with CSKA Moscow at the Etihad, Pellegrini will make changes against Alan Pardew’s team as he looks to continue City’s defence of the trophy.
“It is very important when you play so many games to have the whole squad ready to play so we will probably make some changes. We expect a tough game and that is the mentality we must have before we start every game,” he said.
Pellegrini insists that the Capital One Cup remains a priority despite City needing to make up six points on Chelsea in the Premier League: “It doesn’t matter which competition we are playing in, we will try and win all four in the same way.”
He also admitted the gap to Chelsea is a concern. “Every point you drop is more difficult to arrive at the top of the table. But if you review the table position last year, we were in seventh position in this moment with 16 points, one behind our points in this season. We were six points behind the leader. There are 87 points more to fight for.”
Regarding the prospect of Wayne Rooney perhaps not being available for the derby due to an injury scare, Pellegrini said: “I think Rooney is a very important player for Manchester United but I think that big teams never depend on one player. They have enough important, creative players to replace him.”
