The Citizens have been on a disappointing run as of late and are winless in their last four competitive matches. They were against a struggling Hull City side last time out but were unable to take full advantage as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The visitors struck first as David Meyler opened the scoring in the first half and the defending champions were saved by a last ditch goal from James Milner. Despite City's below par performances as of late, manager Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that his team is not in a crisis.
"I never feel pressure," said Pellegrini.
"It has been the same the last two years, the only pressure is my own pressure, the pressure I make on myself when I don’t think the team is playing well.
"We are in a normal position, we’re involved in the Champions League, if we win tomorrow I think we are just one point less than last season.
"We have a lot more important things to think about than pressure. I don’t feel any pressure from inside the club or from outside."
The Chilean tactician has identified the threat their opposition can pose especially when playing at their own home turf but is confident his team can get the three points on Wednesday.
"They are a very good team. Especially playing at the Britannia – last season we just won 1-0 at home and drew away.
"The whole squad is fit. We are going to go and try to win three points as we always do away from home."
Stoke come into this match at the back of an impressive four match unbeaten run. Their draw against Newcastle United last time out was following three consecutive wins.
Pellegrini has the luxury of choosing from a fully fit squad but Wednesday's match might be too soon for Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony who won the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast on Sunday. Man City have suffered without their talismanic midfielder Yaya Toure who scored in his final appearance with the club which resulted in a 3-2 win for the Citizens over Sunderland.
Stoke are expected to be without captain Ryan Shawcross who missed the match against Newcastle, Philipp Wollscheid is expected to deputize in his place. Stephen Ireland on the other hand will have a late test to determine whether he's fit enough to feature against his former club.
Stoke City vs Man City team sheets
Stoke City's lineup: Begovic; Cameron, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Bardsley; Arnautovic, Nzonzi, Whelan (c), Moses; Diouf, Crouch.
Man City's lineup: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Mangala, Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho, Nasri, Milner, Silva, Aguero.
Stoke City's bench: Butland, Palacios, Adam, Sidwell, Teixeira, Wilkinson, Shenton.
Man City's bench: Caballero, Demichelis, Sagna, Navas, Lampard, Dzeko, Jovetic.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
Stoke City 1 - 4 Manchester City
February 11, 2015 2:45pmBritannia Stadium (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
