Man City vs Red Bull Salzburg Preview

Posted Wednesday, December 01, 2010 by BBC.com

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP A

Venue: City of Manchester Stadium Date: Wednesday 1 December Kick-off: 2005 GMT Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live, plus live text commentary on BBC Sport website; live television coverage on channel Five.

Man City vs Red Bull Salzburg Preview
Argentinian defender Zabaleta (right) is set to return

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini can pick from a near full squad for the home Europa League match against Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.

Pablo Zabaleta, suspended for the game at Stoke City, can play, and Yaya Toure is back after missing the 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium with a migraine.

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to recover from a groin problem and left-back Wayne Bridge is fit again.

Victory over Salzburg would almost guarantee City a place in the last 16.

City lie second in group A behind Lech Poznan, who beat them 3-1 in their previous Europa League match, with both clubs on seven points.

A win would secure City a place in the knock-out phase if Lech beat Juventus on Wednesday, a result which would also put the Polish champions through.

City, who are fourth in the Premier League, are at the start of period of 10 games over the next six weeks, including a final Europa League group match against Juventus in Turin on Thursday, 16 December.

But Mancini said City were fully focused on the match against the Austrian side, who are bottom of the group and will be eliminated if they do not win.

"This month will be very important for us as we have some difficult games against strong teams," he said.

"During this spell we can understand what we must do for the future. It will be very tough because we play every three days.

"But first we must try to beat Salzburg and go through to the next stage. Then we play just two games in February.

"That will give us time to concentrate on the league and that could be an important month too."

Mancini said he intends to tinker with his side after the game at Stoke, though he aired his frustration over former Chelsea player Bridge's inability to stay free of injury.

"The problem he has is he is always injured," he said. "Every game he plays he cannot finish. It is usually a hamstring or a groin problem.

"Every time he was available he played. This week he is available. He is an important part of our group, but he has been unlucky.

"We will change some players for Salzburg as we are playing two games in a few days. But it will still be a good team."