City boss Roberto Mancini has maintained that he will tinker with his line-up for this encounter to give some of his players a rest, due to their exertions against Newcastle United. But he will likely keep James Milner in the starting line-up, having singled him out for praise after the victory over Alan Pardew’s charges.

Pablo Zabaleta was a doubt for the recent game against the Tyneside club, but managed to make the bench on Boxing Day. He could come back to man the right-back position, but faces some competition from Micah Richards.

Kolo Toure returns after serving a suspension after getting sent off against Everton. Emmanuel Adebayor (groin) and Wayne Bridge (hamstring) are doubts for this game. Gerard Houllier received a much-needed boost in the last game as Stilian Petrov returned from injury, while Fabian Delph was able to make a start against Tottenham - though he was later replaced as the skipper marked his return to action.

Luke Young (groin) is a doubt as he had not trained prior to the game against Spurs, and continues to be a doubt for this one. He is joined by Ashley Young (knee), who was described as a “touch and go” prior to the last match. But with this fixture coming only two days after the loss to Harry Redknapp’s men, the winger would likely still be a doubt for this game. Emile Heskey went off injured in the last game and may miss this one through injury.