Manchester City could put one foot in the Capital One Cup final if they take full advantage of a fresher squad than West Ham United in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.
City drew 1-1 against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup third round on Saturday while a threadbare West Ham team, including three debutants and two other Development Squad regulars, were trounced 5-0 at former European champions Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Despite the draw adding a fixture to City’s already busy schedule, the pair will play again on January 15, manager Manuel Pellegrini was content with the result.
“I think it’s very important to still be in the cup – we played against a strong home team,” the Chilean said.
“I think that it was a very close game against a difficult team. They play here with lots of intensity.”
Pellegrini will be confident of taking a first-leg lead into the second semi-final fixture in two weeks time given how West Ham manager Sam Allardyce reacted to questions about his squad selection against Forest.
“Manchester City played on Saturday and we had to play on Sunday,” Allardyce told the club’s website.
The West Ham boss was adamant nonetheless that the Londoners, who are prioritising the league cup and Premier League survival, could push past City into the final.
“With our position in the league, we have all got to stick together and get people back in the side with the experience and the quality and determination I know they have got to secure our Premier League status and get to the Capital One Cup final,” said Allardyce.
“Nobody wants to get beat and we certainly don’t want to get beat 5-0, but at the end of the day the semi-final against Manchester City is more important than this game.”
With City’s current outstanding home form Pellegrini was not troubled by the prospect of Blackburn coming to the Etihad.
“We now must decide who’ll continue in the FA Cup at home. It’s not a problem to decide this at home,” he said.
Image courtesy of SNTV via YouTube, with thanks.
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