Manchester City will begin the title defence of the Capital One Cup by hosting Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday in the third round of the competition tonight.
Last season's double winners City have not had the dream start they were hoping for in the Premier League this season, with early leaders Chelsea opening up a five-point gap over the Citizens already.
Manuel Pellegrini's men have managed just two points from their last three league matches, and enter this tie on a run of four games without a win, including defeats to Stoke City and Bayern Munich. They enter this game after battling back from a man and a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad during the weekend.
However, the Chilean tactician is confident of ending the poor streak of results, and get back to winning ways against Wednesday tonight, though - at the same time - the City manager assures that his side will not be complacent going into this match.
"We won the Capital One Cup last year and we hope we can start in the same way we played in the competition, conceding I think just one goal [en route to the final] and winning all the games.
"When you play against a Championship team it is very difficult, the motivation is not the same and they always try to come here and win. Last season, we were eliminated here in the FA Cup against Wigan [Athletic], a Championship team."
The Owls, on the other hand, have enjoyed a good start to their season in the Championship, and are currently sixth in the table, just three points behind leaders Nottingham Forest. Stuart Gray's side faced a Premier League opponent in second round of the Capital One Cup last month, where they knocked out Burnley.
Wednesday are not short on confidence at all, having suffered just one defeat from their opening 10 fixtures in all competitions this season. The Owls warmed up for the big game with a 1-0 win over Reading at the weekend.
Gray knows Pellgrini will make changes to his squad tonight, and give some of City's fringe players a chance but he points out the task at hand is still massive.
"I'm sure they will make 11 changes and that team will be worth around £300 million and be full of internationals. But I'm really looking forward to my players pitting their wits against top, top players. That's our aim. It's a great game for us. You never know with the underdog."
City product Keiren Westwood is in line to face his former club, with the goalkeeper keeping five clean sheets in eight outings in the league this season, conceding just four goals.
Team News
City: Pellegrini has a few new worries for this game as Pablo Zabaleta will serve his suspension after being sent off against Chelsea at the weekend. Sergio Aguero (knee), David Silva (ankle) and Samir Nasri (groin) will also miss out, while Stevan Jovetic (hamstring) and Fernando (groin) remain sidelined as well.
Wednesday: Midfielders Kieran Lee (groin) and Sam Hutchinson (back) remain on the treatment table, while the good news is on-loan duo Royston Drenthe and Hallam Hope have been granted permission to play by their respective clubs Reading and Everton.
Probable Lineups
City: Caballero; Sagna, Boyata, Demichelis, Clichy; Milner, Lampard; Navas, Pozo, Sinclair; Dzeko
Wednesday: Westwood; Palmer, Lees, Loovens, Mattock; Hope, Semedo, Maghoma, Maguire; May, Nuhiu
Where to Watch Live
The match is set for a 12.15 am IST (7.45 pm BST, 2.45 pm ET) start with no live telecast in India. However, Indian viewers can watch the Capital One Cup games via live streaming option HERE.
Listen to the action in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live or HERE, while US-based viewers can watch the game live HERE.
Middle East and North Africa viewers can watch the match live on beIN Sports Arabia 14 HD or can live stream the action HERE. The rest of Africa can catch the tie live on SuperSport 5 Africa.
