Manuel Pellegrini unlikely to sit Sergio Agüero against Stoke City

Despite Sergio Aguero looking tired in Manchester City's most recent draw against Newcastle United in which he netted his 100th Premier League goal, City manager Manuel Pellegrini has stated he does not wish to sit the Argentinian stating:

Sergio is a very important player for us but I'm sure Real Madrid will play with their best squad on Saturday because they are also trying to win the league. All of them have the risk of an injury.

Sergio Aguero could easily be in the running for the Ballon D'Or if he can remain healthy, which is something that the striker has struggled at for a long time at Manchester City. And with such an important match against Real Madrid coming up, Pellegrini cannot afford to risk losing such an important player to an injury that could keep him out of the lineup against Madrid, let alone keeping him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

But Pellegrini is in a tough position. Following the club's draw to Newcastle United in their last match, can he really afford to play lesser players and risk another draw, or worse, a defeat?

They played very well in Stoke. It was a very good day when they had important players in their best performance. But every game is different.

And hopefully the match against Stoke will be different. But when they lost to Stoke, the Premier League table was quite different. Pellegrini should take a risk, and that's not risking an Aguero injury.