Manchester City will try to strengthen their position in the top four when they face Stoke City in a Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Manuel Pellegrini's side are unbeaten in their last four league fixtures, while mid-table Stoke have failed to win any of their last three games in the top flight.
Manchester City
© Getty ImagesAs the season winds down, teams begin to prioritise games according to what competitions they remain in, and in Manchester City's case, Pellegrini's men are three wins away from lifting the Champions League trophy.
Focus will turn to the European competition next Tuesday when they face Real Madrid at home in the first leg of the semi-finals, but before that, they have to take on Stoke in the Premier League.
City's title challenge drifted away a few months ago, but they are not yet assured of a place in the top four as they currently reside third in the standings, one point above fourth-placed Arsenal with four games left to play.
Manchester United are knocking on the door as they are two points adrift of their local rivals, so City cannot switch off in the Premier League as they still need to keep themselves within the top four.
The team's form in the top flight has improved over the last few weeks as they have managed to record three victories and a draw since losing 1-0 in the Manchester derby on March 20.
After earning a 3-0 win over Chelsea last weekend, City had momentum heading into their midweek game against Newcastle United, but they were restricted by Rafael Benitez's side.
Sergio Aguero gave the visitors to St James' Park the lead in the 14th minute and in the process recorded his 100th Premier League goal since joining the division in 2011.
The celebrations were short-lived, though, as Vurnon Anita equalised for the Magpies and managed to earn a point for the relegation fighters.
City head into this weekend's match in the fifth-best form of the league having taken 11 points from their last six matches - only Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United are in better form at the moment.
In addition, the North-West outfit are second to Spurs in terms of attacking threat as they have scored 62 goals this season, just two fewer than Tottenham, who have scored the most league goals in the campaign.
After his strike against Newcastle, Aguero has now moved up to second in the league's top scorers, level on 22 goals with Leicester's Jamie Vardy. Tottenham's Harry Kane leads the way on 24.
Recent form: DLWWWD
Recent form (all competitions): WDWWWD
Stoke City
© Getty ImagesThe Potters are on course to finish in the top half of the Premier League table this season, but Mark Hughes's men need to start picking up points if they are to put pressure on the teams above them.
Stoke are currently ninth in the standings, four points behind Southampton, seven behind Liverpool, who reside seventh and eighth respectively, and nine points adrift of sixth-placed West Ham United.
Last season, Hughes's team finished the campaign in ninth place on 54 points, meaning that they will need a further eight from their last four games in order to better their 2014-15 campaign.
The Potters are not in the best form of late, having recorded one draw and two defeats since sealing a 2-1 victory over Watford on March 19.
The concerning aspect for Stoke is that they have conceded 10 goals in their last three matches, and they were convincingly picked off by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom scored four goals against the Potters.
At the other end of the pitch, Stoke have not been too prolific as they have scored 37 goals this season, which is the 13th-lowest tally in the division.
In addition, only West Bromwich Albion, Watford, Everton and Aston Villa are in worse form than the Potters as Hughes's side have acquired just five points from their last six league games.
Recent form: DLWDLL
Team News
© AFPPellegrini could receive an injury boost ahead of this weekend's game as David Silva, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna are all expected to be declared fit for the visit of Stoke.
Vincent Kompany is expected to play twice in five days as he made his return from a calf injury to start City's 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday night.
The captain came through the match unscathed, as did Raheem Sterling, who came off the substitutes' bench after recovering from a groin injury.
As for Stoke, they will be without Erik Pieters until January 30 as he serves a suspension for picking up 10 yellow cards this season.
With regards to injuries, the Potters have Jack Butland, Jonathan Walters, Glen Johnson, Marc Wilson and Xherdan Shaqiri receiving treatment.
The only player out of that list likely to return this weekend is Shaqiri, who recently suffered a hamstring problem and is being assessed.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov; Fernando, Delph; Toure, Nasri, Silva; Aguero
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Haugaard; Cameron, Shawcross, Wollschied, Muniesa; Whelan, Imbula; Shaqiri, Afellay Arnautovic; Bojan
Head To Head
Stoke caused an upset to City earlier in the season as they claimed a 2-0 victory at the Britannia Stadium.
Marko Arnautovic, who is the club's top scorer this season with 11 goals, netted a brace, and Stoke were the happier side when they last met at the Etihad Stadium in the 2014-15 season.
Mame Biram Diouf scored the only goal of the game as the Potters took home all three points, but City got revenge in the away fixture as they ran out 4-1 winners.
In the last five meetings between the clubs, each have won twice and the remaining fixture ended in a goalless draw.
We say: Manchester City 2-0 Stoke City
There has not been much between the two sides in their previous five meetings, and City have shown that they can be stopped after Newcastle held them to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night. Pellegrini's side may have one eye on their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, but they are back at the Etihad and have enough quality within the side to gain all three points over the Potters, who have not won any of their last three league games.
