Preview: City looking to continue building momentum under Manuel Pellegrini
Following a 4-0 drubbing of hapless Newcastle United in their first game of the season, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini would be hoping that his star studded squad continues with their winning ways when they take on a Cardiff City side that despite being tipped for instant relegation, has the potential to cause the Citizens a lot of problems.
And Cardiff manager, Malky Mackay is aware of the fact that his side faces a tough test against a team that is one of the favourites to win the Premier League title this time around.
"They're a top, top side," he said. "There's a task ahead of us and you can see how quickly they got in their stride with the new manager [on] Monday.
"I wouldn't say it's daunting, but they've got one of the best squads in the country. We've got to make sure we're competitive."
The last time the two sides met was way back in 1994 in an FA Cup clash which the Welsh side won 1-0. However, much has changed since then. In the past 19 years, while Cardiff have struggled to reach the dizzy heights of football, Manchester City have become one of the biggest forces in English football which simply means that Cardiff fans might not be very optimistic of a repeat of the aforementioned FA Cup clash.
Not denying the gulf of class between the two side, goalkeeper David Marshall says that a time will come when his side will have to adopt the ‘park the bus’ strategy, a phrase coined by Jose Mourinho.
“There will be a point where Manchester City are that good, that we’ll have no other option than to park the bus. We will have to defend well,” says Marshall.
Pellegrini on the other hand, says that his side will not underestimate their opponents.
Dismissing any prospect of complacency, Pellegrini said: “We are not going to make that mistake.
“We know Cardiff are a very difficult team. We know they are at home and are in the first season.
“We will need to play an excellent game without errors to get another three points.”
Andreas Cornelius could be set to make his debut for Cardiff after the Danish striker missed the 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham United last weekend. Andrew Taylor is back in contention after serving a ban.
Pellegrini faces a defensive headache ahead of the match with captain Vincent Kompany sidelined for a month due to a groin injury while Matija Nastasic faces a race against time in order to prove his fitness. Micah Richards on the other hand, is out for another week.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels
Watch Cardiff City vs Manchester City live on Sunday, August 25, 2013:
In Canada at 11:00 ET on: Sportsnet World, Sportsnet World Online
In UK at 16:00 BST on: Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Sports 3D, BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Go
In USA at 11:00 ET on: NBC Sports Live Extra, Directv, Premier League Extra Time
Fans in other parts of the world can watch the match live on their local channels. Fans in the Middle East can watch the match live on Al Jazeera Sport HD1.
Probable starting line-ups
Cardiff's probable starting XI: Marshall; Connolly, Caulker, Turner, Taylor; Gunnarsson, Medel, Bo-Kyung; Bellamy, Cornelius, Whittingham.
Manchester City's probable starting XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Nastasic, Lescott, Clichy; Toure, Fernandinho, Silva; Navas, Dzeko, Aguero.
