MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Manchester City make just four changes to the starting team that drew in the FA Cup draw with Blackburn for tonight’s English Capital One Cup semi-final first leg clash with West Ham at Etihad Stadium.
Amongst the changes, goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon comes in for Joe Hart, while midfielder Yaya Toure also returns to the starting XI.
Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo lead a two-man attack as Manuel Pellegrini picked a team to try and dominate and score lots of goals before the second leg tie later this month.
West Ham, meanwhile, make eight changes from their FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest at the weekend, on loan defender Roger Johnson, as expected starting.
The players who kept their spots in the team from the weekend are goalkeeper Adrian, Stewart Downing and Modibo Maiga.
Manchester City: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Nasri, Yaya, Garcia, Silva; Negredo, Dzeko
Subs: Hart, Kolarov, Demichelis, Nastasic, Milner, Fernandinho, Marcos Lopes
West Ham: Adrian, McCartney, Maiga, Taylor, Noble, O’Brien, Demel, Diame, Downing, J. Cole, Johnson.
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Rat, Collison, Diarra, Morrison, Jarvis, Carlton Cole.
