Manchester City look for Capital One Cup fillip after successive defeats
Manchester City will aim to put a bad week behind them and get back to winning ways when they take on Sunderland in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday.
City were given a reality check as their impressive, 100 per cent start to the season came to an abrupt halt with defeats to Juventus and West Ham in the space of five days last week.
But City did create a number of chances in both losses, particularly as they threatened a comeback in the second half against the Hammers on Saturday, and record signing Kevin De Bruyne hopes to maintain the momentum.
The B#54million forward, who scored City's goal in the 2-1 weekend loss, said: "We just have to play like we did in the second half. The only thing we have to do is score goals and then obviously we can win that game.
"It's always difficult and it won't be easy at Sunderland but we have to get a win over there. We want to do well in all the competitions."
If some City players were tired at the weekend after their exertions against Juve, manager Manuel Pellegrini may see the tie as an opportunity to rest some bigger names ahead of Saturday's game at Tottenham.
Joe Hart, Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala, Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho have started every game this season. Mangala is a fitness doubt anyway after being withdrawn at half-time against West Ham, as is David Silva with a calf problem.
Vincent Kompany, Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta and Fabian Delph are already ruled out.
Young strikers Kelechi Iheanacho, scorer of a late winner at Crystal Palace earlier this month, and Patrick Roberts, a B#12million summer signing from Fulham, could be given an opportunity.
Spanish right-back Pablo Maffeo, who has been on the fringe of the first-team squad this term, could also come in if Sagna is given the night off. Zabaleta, the first choice in the position, is sidelined until at least the end of the month.
Sunderland head into the tie at the Stadium of Light having failed to win any of their opening six Barclays Premier League games of the season to sit at the foot of the table.
The Black Cats thought they had turned something of a corner against Tottenham last Sunday when they produced a much-improved display in a 1-0 home defeat, but they surrendered that feel-good factor inside nine disastrous minutes at Bournemouth on Saturday as they allowed the Cherries to secure a decisive early lead.
They will attempt to steady the ship against the Premier League leaders, who beat them in the League Cup final at Wembley in March 2014, with boss Dick Advocaat keen to further annoy opposite number Pellegrini.
He led Russian side Zenit St Petersburg to an aggregate victory over Pellegrini's Villarreal in February 2008 on the way to UEFA Cup glory, and the Chilean was not happy about it.
Advocaat said with a smile: "When I was the manager of Zenit, we played against Villarreal and I kicked him out of the UEFA Cup, and he was very angry because he did not expect that.
"He's a very, very nice man."
Sunderland will be without the suspended Younes Kaboul following his sending-off at Bournemouth, but skipper John O'Shea is available after recovering from illness.
Source: PAR
