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Manchester City will be without Samir Nasri and David Silva
as they travel to play Newcastle on Tuesday night.
But the Blues will be boosted by the return of Vincent
Kompany and Raheem Sterling – and the skipper could
even start against the Toon.
Full-backs Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy will also be
missing with minor back problems, meaning Pablo Zabaleta
and Aleks Kolarov keep their places after taking part
in the 3-0 win at Chelsea.
Kompany’s return is not as urgent as it might have been,
as Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi have both stepped
up their performance level and looked good in keeping
clean sheets against Paris St Germain and Chelsea.
And Pellegrini acknowledged that, saying: “It’s not just
been in recent games, it is very important especially this
season when we have been fighting for important things
that we have a good squad.
“A lot of players have been injured this season, especially
Vincent, and between Mangala, Otamendi and Demichelis they
have done the job.
“I am very happy with the way they are playing now, both
of them, and Vincent will be an important help for our
defence.”