Nasri set for City return

Samir Nasri will make his return to the Manchester City squad for Wednesday’s League Cup fourth-round clash with Newcastle United.

The Frenchman has not featured for the Etihad Stadium outfit since a 1-0 UEFA Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich on September 17 after undergoing a groin operation.

However, Nasri could be involved this week as City look to bounce back from a shock 2-1 Premier League defeat at the hands of West Ham on Saturday.

“[Samir] Nasri is working normally and is in the squad list for tomorrow,” said Pellegrini. “[Frank] Lampard is out, all the other players in the squad are fit.

“I don’t think Frank will be fit for the weekend but maybe he can be fit for next week.”

Despite stressing the importance of succeeding in the League Cup, Pellegrini conceded he was likely to rotate his squad for the visit of Newcastle, who lost 2-0 to City in their opening match of the season.

“It is very important for the club to win trophies,” he added. “That is why it doesn’t matter in which competition we are playing, we are trying to win all four competitions in the same way.

“I transmit the mentality to the players that every game you play is one you must try to win. If you ask me if I prefer to win the Premier League, maybe, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to win the Capital One Cup which is why we are involving the whole squad in this game.

“It is very important when you play so many games to have the whole squad ready to play, so we will probably make some changes.”