Manchester City will host West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday night.
The Citizens need to win this match in order to secure the second position in the league as third place Chelsea are just four points behind them in the table and will be clambering to overtake them.
City boss Roberto Mancini will have one eye on Saturday’s big FA Cup final against Wigan Athletic, which is their only chance of winning a trophy this season, and therefore can be expected to make some changes in the squad.
He has said that tonight’s encounter will feature 5 to 6 fresh players for sure.
In last Saturday’s encounter against Swansea City which ended 0-0, Carlos Tevez was rested and Yaya Toure was withdrawn at half-time as precaution. Defenders Pablo Zabaleta and Vincent Kompany can also be expected to be rested and fresh for the next encounter.
Zabaleta has even claimed that tonight’s match will be an audition for the players to prove their worth before the massive FA Cup encounter.
The Baggies who are currently at the 8th position in the Premier League table with 48 points, will be looking to bounce back after a shock 3-2 defeat at the hands of Wigan during the weekend.
However, boss Steve Clarke has said that there is no pressure on them for their visit to Manchester as no one really expects them to get any points from this fixture.
Midfielder James Morrison may be back in the squad after recovering from a groin strain, and striker Peter Odemwingie may also get a starting place in this match.
Probable line-ups:
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Nastasic, Toure, Milner, Silva, Nasri, Tevez, Aguero.
West Bromwich Albion: Foster, Reid, Olsson, Popov, Yacob, Ridgewell, Rosenberg, Brunt, Morrison, Odemwingie, Lukaku