Manchester City @ Stoke City: Pellegrini's Probable Picks

Fresh off a 3-1 victory over Southampton and a 4-1 defeat against Hull, it looks like Manchester City has left behind a three match spell that resulted without a victory. These matches were against Aston Villa, Juventus and Liverpool. A visit to Stoke City now beckons for Manchester City, with a victory putting Manchester City firmly into first place. Though David Silva has returned to the Manchester City match day squad, City will be without Sergio Aguero, who came off against Southampton and will be out for the next 10-14 days. Though Sergio Aguero will be unavailable for Manchester City, this could not necessarily be a bad thing. With the return of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne will be shifted to the right, while Raheem Sterling will play on the left. Wilfried Bony, acting as cover for Aguero, will be looking for goals up front. With the creative and quick, particularly Sterling, trio behind Bony, it is unlikely that Manchester City will be short of goals.

As stated previously Sergio Aguero will be out for Saturday's match against Stoke City. Wilfried Bony will act as cover. With the return of David Silva, he will take over the central attacking midfielder, while Raheem Sterling will deploy his pace on the left and Kevin De Bruyne will use his speed on the right. With Pablo Zabaleta out with a knee injury, it looks like Bacary Sagna will retain his place in the right back position. I predict that Aleksandar Kolarov will keep Gael Clichy on the bench. With Vincent Kompany out with a calf injury, it is likely that Nicolas Otamendi will be paired with Martin Demichelis, because Eliaquim Mangala is suspended. With Yaya Toure out injured, it looks like Fabian Delph, who started in Southampton, will be paired with Fernandinho in the midfield. Though Joe Hart missed the previous 2 Manchester City matches, in the Capital One Cup an Premier League, he looks set to return and make the starting XI.