With a spate of injuries to contend with and big games against Sevilla and Manchester United on the horizon, Manuel Pellegrini has some important decisions to make

By Sam Lee

Manchester City head into Saturday’s game with Bournemouth having lost Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Aleksandar Kolarov to injury during the international fixtures, but Vincent Kompany is back in contention.

With a number of players only just working their way back up to full fitness, Manuel Pellegrini could find himself light on options this weekend.

Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri should be available but have missed some time, while Fabian Delph and Gael Clichy are still out.

Wilfried Bony is likely to deputise up front – although he’ll also be needed on Wednesday as Kelechi Iheanacho is not registered for the Champions League – with Kevin De Bruyne likely to take the central playmaker role.

“I always trust Wilfried – he’s a very good player,” explained Pellegrini at his press conference. “He’s had very bad luck here.

“He arrived here in January, he went to the African Cup and then he had problems with his knee. Last season he couldn’t demonstrate what he can do but now he has the responsibility.”

Fernando and Fernandinho should continue in midfield, even if the former spent the international break recovering from a knock and the latter travelling 20,000 miles with Brazil, while Kompany could start his first game for City since September 15.

Bacary Sagna, who started the season at right-back due to Pablo Zabaleta’s absence but dropped to the bench last time to facilitate the Argentine’s return, could even be used at left-back to cover for Kolarov and Clichy.