David Silva will be out for three weeks with a knee ligament injury in what is a sizeable blow to Manchester City before Sunday’s 168th derby and Wednesday evening’s crucial Champions League match with CSKA Moscow. However Manuel Pellegrini is hopeful Yaya Touré, who has a groin issue, will be available for Manchester United’s visit to the Etihad Stadium.
Pellegrini’s team are suffering a loss of form, failing to win their last three games, losing the last two. The manager started both Silva and Touré in Wednesday’s 2-0 Capital One Cup defeat to Newcastle United, when each suffered their respective problems.
Pellegrini said: “David has a problem in his ligament. Maybe he will be out around three weeks so he will not be available for the derby. Yaya has a small problem, we will see him tomorrow but I think he will not have any problems.”
The Chilean has previously described Silva as the team’s most vital player but he tried to downplay his absence. “He is a very important player but I think we have a squad and we have to replace him with another player,” he said, before discussing Touré’s indifferent form.
“I think we are a team and in that team we need top players in their performance always.”
Pellegrini admitted on Wednesday that the side had a crisis of confidence.
“I just was talking about the normal performance of our team. We need to play faster than we are doing but in both games against West Ham [also lost] and Newcastle the best player of the other team was the goalkeeper.”
Can his team respond against United? “I think they know perfectly what we are doing and I am sure we will return to our normal performance.”
Pellegrini consistently talks of how his side will always play attackingly. Again, he signalled a refusal to change despite the results. “If I go one year ago, around the end of October, we have the same questions, when we won away just one game, I answer the same way,” he said.
Of the derby Pellegrini said: “It is a very important game but every game has just three points so it is very important for us to add just three points. Being a derby is more important for the fans. I expect that we are going to have a tough game against a very good team with very good players.”
Is the meeting with United the biggest match of the season? “It is difficult to talk about that. I think every derby is different from another one. Both teams are maybe not in their best moments of the season but always a derby is special,” said the manager. “All the games are biggest games, especially when you have to win three points. Especially against Liverpool or Chelsea I always say they are games of six points.”