Preview
Pellegrini's men are on the hunt and with the Magpies already slayed, it's time to butcher the Bluebirds.
The opening day of the Premier League allowed the Chilean godfather to assess his main title rivals. Liverpool almost paid for missed opportunities; Mourinho's Chelsea tika-taka'd their way past Hull and United ruthlessly disposed of Swansea. But the weekend launch was just a support group for Monday's main act.
City disposed of Pardew's French legion in a task as straight-forward as putting the bins out. New signing Jesus Navas had Newcastle chasing him like an owner of an escaped dog and the blues looked irresistible in a 4-0 thrashing. Consistency will be key this season, so can we do it again?
The Cardiff City Stadium has become a real fortress for City's next opponents since its inauguration in 2009. Fifty-eight wins in 104 home games has booked the Premier League in for a fresh injection of Wales and Malky Mackay's side will be hoping to maintain their fine home record in the top flight this season.
The Bluebirds suffered a 2-0 defeat to West Ham United in their first Premier League game ever and will be relying on a ferocious home crowd to steer them to an unlikely victory on Sunday. New signing Steven Caulker will have the unenviable task of manning Sergio Aguero, but it's a job the young England prospect will relish.
Vincent Kompany is the latest addition to City's growing injury list and Mackay's men will look to target a weakened back line. We're expected to win, but the Cardiff City Stadium could turn out to be an intimidating dungeon hiding a vicious Welsh dragon.
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Line-Up
Dedryck Boyata, Javi Garcia or even Micah Richards could fill the vacancy left by Vincent Kompany in defence. The Belgian is expected to be out for a month and Pellegrini is likely to go back into the market for an experienced centre back.
With Pepe rumours rapidly dispersing, Valencia's Adil Rami and Atletico Madrid's Martin Demichelis are on the top of Manuel's wishlist. Although Demichelis has the experience, Rami is more likely to have the pace required for the Premier League.
In spite of City's defensive troubles, the line-up is unlikely to change after Monday night's result. The 4-4-2 formation worked to perfection and it would be wrong to change it.
Key Men
Steven Caulker
The former Spurs defender will have the terrifying task of stopping Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko from scoring on Sunday. Once tipped to be a future Tottenham captain and England regular, Caulker definitely has the qualities to help Cardiff stay up this season.
Jesus Navas
We all expected the Spanish speed demon to hug the right touchline on Monday night; he didn't. However, it proved to be an inspired move by Pellegrini. Navas floated amongst the midfield, running into space at every given opportunity and providing an outlet for David Silva and Yaya Toure. I've said it before but Navas supplies City with a different dimension and a dimension that could hold the key to the Premier League title this season.
