Preview: Manchester City v Roma
Monday, September 29, 2014
Article summary
In-form AS Roma were in good spirits as they arrived in England but Manuel Pellegrini says his Manchester City FC side, at their best, are more than a match for them.
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• Manuel Pellegrini does not feel any pressure despite City's loss to FC Bayern München
• The City manager believes his team are beginning to find their rhythm
• Roma have lost on all three of their previous visits to Manchester
• The Italian side have opened their Serie A campaign with five consecutive wins
• Rudi Garcia says Roma have everything to gain, City everything to lose
Possible lineups
City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy; Touré, Fernandinho; Navas, Silva, Milner; Agüero.
• Out: Nasri (groin)
• Doubtful: Nastasić (knock), Jovetić (hamstring), Fernando (groin)
Roma: De Sanctis; Maicon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Manolas, Torosidis; Pjanić, Keita, Naninggolan; Florenzi, Totti, Gervinho.
• Out: De Rossi (thigh), Astori (knee), Castán (neck), Strootman (knee)
• Doubtful: Iturbe (thigh), De Sanctis (fatigue)
Manuel Pellegrini, City manager
We were very close to getting a draw against Bayern München, but it [the 1-0 loss] was not a failure. It was a very good shot [from Jérôme Boateng] that deflected into the goal. If we had drawn against Bayern München, we would still have the same pressure to win tomorrow. Last year we lost the first game and went on to win the other five, so if we play tomorrow in the way we have been doing I will be very happy because we are a team that scores. It will be a very tough game, but we can win it.
We are playing well. Maybe at the beginning of the season we didn't score so many goals at home – especially against Stoke and Chelsea, two games in a row where we only scored once – but after that the team returned to normal performance.
Roma are a very good team because they have won all five of their league games. Last year they were also a very good team. It was [Rudi] Garcia's first season and maybe no one was sure what he could do, but he started the campaign very well, winning all of his [first ten] games and finally he qualified his team for the Champions League. He is a very good manager and he manages a very good team with very technical and fast players.
Rudi Garcia, Roma coach
We have started the season well and the three points against CSKA give us a chance to play without too much pressure. We have everything to gain. That's also because after the draw everyone had already written this one off as a defeat for us. They have everything to lose.
Let's not forget that we were in the fourth pot for the draw, which means we're outsiders – especially against the English and German champions. This role motivates us to show that they maybe got their assessment of us wrong. It will bring out our pride. We have to be assertive and not just spectators. It will be tough, but we'll make things difficult for Manchester City.
City are a team that bases things on ball possession. They can speed the game up when they find space thanks to the quality players they have. We'll see what kind of attitude they have, but we'll have to be ready to respond to their every move. We'll have to be organised. We need to seize the moment, because I'm sure we'll have our chance during the game.
Weekend results
Hull City 2-4 Manchester City (Mangala og 21, Hernández 32pen; Agüero 7, Džeko 11 68, Lampard 87)
Roma 2-0 Hellas Verona FC (Florenzi 75, Destro 86)
Form guide (all competitions)
City: WWDLDL
Roma: WWWWWW
Match facts
• Roma have won only once in 14 previous visits to England – who did they defeat and when? Find out in our extensive match background.