Manchester City v. Mönchengladbach: Tactical Preview

After Vincent Kompany was not handed a spot on Manchester City's bench for last Saturday's match against Tottenham, it looks like Kompany will likely not feature for Manchester City against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The addition of Vincent Kompany to the Manchester City injury list will only make selection more difficult for Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City enter Wednesday's Champions League encounter against Borussia Mönchengladbach with the need for three points to begin their road towards a possible second round berth. With the addition of Vincent Kompany, this is how the injury list stands: Gael Clichy, Wilfried Bony, Vincent Kompany, Fabian Delph, Kelechi Iheanacho and Eliaquim Mangala. The good news for Manchester City is that Yaya Touré, David Silva and Joe Hart all returned to training. Silva missed City's defeat to West Ham in the Premier League ten days ago and the Capital One Cup fixture four days after against Sunderland. Touré came off in the second half of last week's match against Tottenham after some trouble with his hamstring, but he managed to practice with the squad on Tuesday.

With Wednesday's match only a mere hours away, Manuel Pellegrini will likely be shaking his head after the selection he made for the match against Tottenham. After playing Yaya Touré play an attacking role, with Fernando and Fernandinho playing as defensive midfielders, Pellegrini will most likely put Touré back in a more defensive role, alongside either Fernandinho or Fernando Reges. If Pellegrini wants to attack Mönchengladbach, he will likely need Jesus Navas to start. With his speed and technique, he could prove to the be the third ideal attacking partner to Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne. If Navas is inserted into the starting XI, De Bruyne will likely shift into a central attacking player, right behind Sergio Aguero.

In defense, with the injuries to Gael Clichy, Eliaqium Mangala, and Vincent Kompany, Manchester City will likely line up with Aleksandar Kolarov, Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demichelis. With Zabaleta slowly easing himself back into the City match day squad after overcoming a knee injury, Pellegrini will line up Bacary Sagna. After returning to training, it looks like Joe Hart will put his back troubles behind him to start in goal on Wednesday.

Predicted Line-Up: