Preview
Mourinho's Pensioners collected their finest pay packet from the bank of Pellegrini on Sunday and the Chilean can not afford to feed the Magpies with any similar rewards on Wednesday night.
Manuel Pellegrini's leaky blues travel to Newcastle on Wednesday evening and both teams will compete for a place in the 5th round of the Capital One Cup.
City's fragility in defence has been the source of every newspaper headline this week after Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic catastrophically combined to present Fernando Torres with the opportunity to score a 90th minute winner for Chelsea on Sunday. Egos, reputations and guarantees of first team places may have all been hurt, but even more sickeningly for City, they fell six points behind Arsenal at the top of the table.
Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic make a crucial mistake on Sunday.
Pellegrini has refused to comment on individuals following his sides 2-1 loss, but it is expected that Joe Hart's place in the side will be considered. Costel Pantillimon was expected to line up in between the sticks tonight even before a media driven exagerrated commotion began on Monday morning and an insight into Hart's future at the club will truly begin on Saturday when City face Norwich.
Another team in ample trouble is Newcastle United. In Sunday's Tyne and Wear derby, they allowed rivals Sunderland to pick up their first win of the season in a dreadful performance. Pardew's peckers may look comfortable in 11th place, but only three points separates them from the relegation zone.
Fabio Borini sinks Newcastle hearts at the Stadium Of Light on Sunday.
The home side will be seeking revenge after being given a 4-0 thumping by City on the opening day of the Premier League season and in front of a frantic fifty-two thousand capacity, they may just fancy their chances of causing an upset.
Manuel will ring the changes, but a good cup run is something we've been used to for years now. It's time to restore the faith and relieve the pressure.
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Line-Up
A new look side is expected to be on show at the Sports Direct Arena with Stevan Jovetic, Jack Rodwell and Micah Richards all in line to start. Yaya Toure has only recently travelled back from Kenya is doubtful to make the bench.
Vincent Kompany has suffered a minor setback in his rehabilitation which means he will miss a further three games. Costel Pantillimon will start between the sticks.
Key Players
Yohan Cabaye
The Frenchman has upped his game after missing out on a dream move away from the club in summer and has kept Newcastle in a respectable 11th place against all odds. Whether or not the Frenchman starts on Wednesday night is yet to be seen, but Newcastle's chances will be elevated if he does.
Stevan Jovetic
The Montenegrin forward has made an uneasy start to his career at Manchester City after suffering from a number of niggling injuries. His two goals against Wigan Athletic in the last round evidenced his goalscoring talents and City fans can't wait to see more of the £22m man.
