First start for Bojinov

Valeri Bojinov was handed his first Manchester City start since August 2007 as Mark Hughes’ men looked to ease their lingering fears of relegation by beating Sunderland at Eastlands.

The Bulgarian is not registered for UEFA Cup combat so missed out as City advanced to the last eight in Aalborg on Thursday night.

However, along with Elano and Nigel de Jong, who replaced injured duo Stephen Ireland and Wayne Bridge, Bojinov was drafted in to face a Sunderland side struggling to avoid getting dragged back towards the drop zone themselves.