Manuel Pellegrini does not believe Manchester City are cutting it fine by returning to the UK just 21 hours before they take on Middlesbrough on Saturday. The Chilean was due to take off from Abu Dhabi at 11am (UK time) this morning with the rest of his squad following their mid season trip to the homeland of the club's owners.
And the seven-hour flight will see them touch down in Manchester at 6pm tonight ahead of tomorrow's clash against the high-flying Championship side.
The champions had the option to come back on Thursday night but Pellegrini chose not to – and he has no concerns that his players will be fit and ready.
'We are not worried about the travelling element,' he said.
'There is only a few hours (time) difference between and we will return to the City Football Academy on Friday and prepare for the game as normal.
'It was the right time to have a break and we've enjoyed our stay in Abu Dhabi. Last January we played eight or nine games so it was important to have this time so we can return refreshed.'
Pellegrini added that he will not underestimate Aitor Karanka's second-placed men and said that the week break before City's huge clash at Chelsea meant he could field a strong side.
'Of course there are always opportunities for players to impress and stake a claim for a place,' he explained.
'But we are playing on Saturday and not in midweek and we will have a full week to recover before we play Chelsea so with that in mind, I will try and put out the strongest team I can.'
Meanwhile, fit-again striker Edin Dzeko acknowledged the FA Cup tie was important but admitted he had one eye on the trip to West London.
'Hopefully we can win (against Boro) and go with confidence to London to play maybe one of the biggest games this season,' he said.
Dzeko, who struck in City's 2-0 friendly win over Hamburg in Abu Dhabi, added: 'It's always good to score. I'm happy after my injury that I am back with a goal so hopefully there will be more.'
Source:Dailymail.
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