Pellegrini unsure of best attack

14 September 2013 09:31

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini concedes he does not know his best striking combination - but expects Alvaro Negredo to build on the superb start he has made at the club.

Negredo has made a good impression since his £20million summer arrival from Sevilla, scoring off the bench in the last two games against Cardiff and Hull.

The Spaniard also found the net on his debut against Newcastle, only to have his effort ruled out in a tight offside call.

After also scoring on international duty last week, the 28-year-old is pressing for his first City start as Pellegrini's men travel to Stoke in the Barclays Premier League this weekend.

Pellegrini, who briefly worked with Negredo during his short spell in charge of Real Madrid four years ago, said: "I think that in every game he played he did very well.

"He has scored in all the matches so I hope we will see the best of Negredo, that I saw in Spain for the last seven, eight years.

"He was a very young player when I was at Real Madrid. He started there and after that, every year, he has been a very important striker in Spain. He will be here in England also."

Negredo is competing with Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and another summer arrival in Stevan Jovetic for a place up front.

Between them the four players cost City £107million and Pellegrini has no firm idea of which pairings might be the most effective.

"No, I don't know exactly," he said. "We have four important players for that combination."

Source: PA