Pellegrini wants to fight on all fronts
City begin their fourth trophy challenge of the season as they travel to the Championship side in the third round of the FA Cup.
They are well placed in all the others, being second in the Premier League, through to the last 16 of the Champions League and into the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup.
Pellegrini wants to add the FA Cup to his list of targets but after four games in 12 days over Christmas, and a League Cup date with West Ham next Wednesday, he must utilise his squad.
He said: “We are going to make changes because we are playing too often in the last (few) weeks.
“We are going to try to have a good squad and to win the first game in our FA Cup (campaign) because for our team it is an important cup.
“I said from the beginning of the season if we are going to play in every competition we must play with exactly the same importance.”
Pellegrini made eight changes for last month’s League Cup quarter-final at Leicester but a team containing Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Jesus Navas, David Silva and Edin Dzeko came through 3-1. Pellegrini believes a similar test could await his side at Ewood Park. He said: “All the teams playing at home are very difficult. Maybe Blackburn are not in the best (form) at the moment in the Championship but, playing at home and playing against us, they will be very motivated.
“If we think, ’We are in Premier League and they are in Championship — we are going to win’, it is an important mistake.
“We must play with concentration, with intensity and with the tempo we need if we want to win.”
Pellegrini is pleased with where his side stand at the midpoint of the season, but knows there are more important tests to come. “It was a good first half of the season but we must win important things in the second (half) to be a successful season.”
Midfielder Jack Rodwell is out today with a hamstring injury but playmaker David Silva is back from suspension.
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