City captain Vincent Kompany on the bench for the
derby clash with Manchester United.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellerini has hinted that
captain Vincent Kompany will not return to his starting line-up
for Sunday's derby against Manchester United.
Kompany suffered a calf injury during City's Champions League
defeat to Juventus in September and went against his
manager's wishes in returning to action for Belgium's Euro
2012 qualifier against Israel, despite missing all five of his
club's matches in the intervening period.
Following this month's international break, Kompany looked on
as an unused substitute when City beat AFC Bournemouth 5-1
and only came on in injury time against La Liga side
Sevilla following Kevin De Bruyne's late winner on Wednesday.
At a pre-match media conference ahead of the top-of-the-table
clash at Old Trafford, Pellegrini offered his latest assurances
that there are no problems between himself and Kompany –
maintaining his stance that the defender's omission relates to
him being short of full fitness.
However, he praised the form of incumbent centre-back duo
Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi and said he would pick
"the best players for the moment".
"I don’t have a problem with Vincent," Pellegrini said. "Every
week I choose the starting XI that’s best for that game.
"Other players must wait. It's exactly the same for all the
players.
"I'm not punishing Vincent. I have no problems in my relations
with Vincent.
"After one month, five weeks without playing [or] training you
must be fit. It is important to work some days before return to
the team."
He added: "It's crucial to play with the best players for the
moment. Football is moments – now, Mangala and Otamendi
are doing well."
Pellegrini confirmed that there would be no alteration to a
significant list of injury absentees for the 170th Manchester
derby – with influential playmaker David Silva (ankle), remaining
on the sidelines alongside Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Fabian
Delph (all hamstring) and Gael Clichy (ankle).
The Chilean pushed free-scoring midfielder De Bruyne into a
centre-forward role during the closing stages against Sevilla –
an ultimately inspired switch, which he believes underlines
City's capacity to cope amid reduced attacking options.
"We can play in different ways and we can win," Pellegrini
added. "Kevin De Bruyne is not a striker but he could play as a
striker if we need him to.
"Last season we had a lot of different ways to play – when our
strikers were injured, we played with [James] Milner [in attack]
and scored goals."
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