Morning, morning and welcome to your Wednesday edition of what the media says.
Sitting comfortably? Then let us begin!
Most of the City-centric headlines dripping from pens and keyboards today concern Manuel Pellegrini’s press briefing, and exactly what he said about injuries to Vincent Kompany and David Silva.
But rather than getting the news second hand, why not get it straight from the boss’ mouth? Watch his press conference on CityTV right here.
Right then, what else is floating about this morning?
Well, Gus Poyet has been giving his own press conference, and he reckons City’s old boys can help Sunderland achieve a fifth 1-0 home victory.
Surely not? I don’t think my blood pressure could take it!
The Guardian quote Poyet as saying: “They know about City. We talk about certain things and it is so much easier when you can confirm those things with these three players. I can tell you they have shared a bit of information with us – and every little bit helps.”
One of those old boys is summer signing Jack Rodwell, and the Black Cats manager reckons although he left on good terms, he’ll have a point to prove.
Added Poyet: “I think playing City will be special for Jack. We paid a lot of money for him and he left on good terms but he wants to show he is still on City’s level. It’s going to be a great night for Jack. I hope he scores.”
On this one occasion Jack – please don’t?! Surely you can score at the weekend instead?
Meanwhile, there are still two Premier League matches to be played before focus turns back to the Champions League, but former Roma defender Mehdi Benatia is already starting the pre-match chatter.
"Roma are stronger than Manchester City, in my opinion," the centre-half told Processo del Lunedi.
"If they play like they did against Inter, they will go through to the next round.
"They play great football and they have so much quality."
Well, we shall see! Of course, Benatia is now with Bayern Munich and got himself sent off in the game at the Etihad Stadium.
If there’s lots of football to be played before next week, there’s a plethora of minutes to be accounted for before the transfer window opens in January.
Is that stopping the rumour mill? Of course not. According to today’s Daily Mail, Aleks Kolarov is being chased by Roberto Mancini who sees him as the perfect January signing.
Just won’t go away this particular rumour!
Writes Simon Jones: “Mancini signed Kolarov in 2010 for £16m from Lazio yet the Serbian has never cemented his first team place in the face of competition from Gael Clichy.
“Kolarov signed a new three-year deal in June and his wages will be an issue for Inter.
“The 29-year-old has scored 15 times in 149 appearances for City - winning two Premier League titles, a FA Cup and a Capital One Cup.
“City have been linked with Monaco left-back Layvin Kurzawa, 22, but Bayern Munich are understood to be keen on the Frenchman.”
If he hasn’t nailed down a first team place, then 149 appearances (or around 35 appearances a season!) isn’t bad going.
By the way, that’s the most maths you’re getting at this time in the morning.
Watch on youtube.com
Kompany in race against time to face Roma
Manuel Pellegrini has ruled the Manchester City captain out of the next two league games, as he awaits the medical team's assessment of the Belgian's hamstring injury
Manchester City could be without captain Vincent Kompany for their vital Champions League clash with Roma.
The Premier League champions came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat Bayern Munich 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium on matchday five, and must now win against the Serie A side away from home to progress to the knockout stages.
But Manuel Pellegrini has ruled the Belgian out of league games against Sunderland and Everton and is facing an anxious wait over the centre-back's fitness ahead of the must-win game in Rome on December 10.
"Vincent Kompany is not able to play against Sunderland or against Everton, that’s sure," Pellegrini said. “We’ll see if he arrives against Roma, but that will depend on the opinion of the doctor.
"It’s very difficult, because I cannot say without the opinion of the doctor how his injury will improve in the next days. It depends what degree of muscle injury he has.
"It’s very difficult to know in this moment if he can play in Rome."
Pellegrini has a decision to make on who to play in central defence against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.
With Eliaquim Mangala suspended, Bacary Sagna could deputise at centre-back alongside Martin Demichelis, while Dedryck Boyata is also a candidate for a start.
Sergio Aguero vows to help Man City beat Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd to Lionel Messi
SERGIO AGUERO has revealed he will try and convince Lionel Messi to join Manchester City, ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.
Messi has caused a storm of speculation in recent days after admitting he could leave Barcelona.
And Aguero - who is close to Messi from their time together in the Argentine national team - says he hopes to capitalise on the uncertainty to bring his friend to the Premier League.
"It's a tough ask. I'll try and convince him," he said after winning the Football Supporters' Federation Player of the Year award.
"You want the best players to be playing in the Premier League.
Reports last week suggested that only City and Chelsea in England had the financial wherewithal to pull of a deal for Messi.
And it was thought that Chelsea held the upper hand in the race for the diminutive superstar, with Adidas preparing to help fund a £200m move.
But it now seems as they Aguero could try and use his influence to persuade Messi of a move to the Etihad instead.
Manchester City's former Platt Lane training complex taken over by Manchester Metropolitan University
The long-mooted move was formally announced today and will see 19 staff who worked at the complex now employed by the university.
The Moss Side facility had been run by City for 35 years, most recently as a base for its academy players.
But with the club moving all its training operations to the newly-built Etihad Campus, the university will take on the facilities for community programmes - including the club’s City in the Community scheme - and use by its own student football teams.
Professor John Brooks, vice chancellor of MMU, said: “We have been discussing the Platt Lane Complex with both Manchester City FC and Manchester City Council for some months; it represents the first major activity following the signing of our collaboration agreement in July.
“It is also a key part of our ambitious sports strategy, and we are delighted that our students and staff will have access to a superb sports complex as part of our overall commitment to sports and fitness at MMU.”
Rosa Battle, executive member for culture and leisure at Manchester Council, said: “The complex has an illustrious history and is genuinely valued by residents. Working with MMU will mean this much-loved site, in the heart of south Manchester, will continue to provide important sports and fitness activities.
“This is a long term commitment from MMU demonstrating our committee to providing the best facilities we can to local residents and guaranteeing the future of the Platt Lane complex for years to come.”
Jon Stemp, chief infrastructure officer at MCFC stated: “We are very pleased to see the Platt Lane site under the management of MMU - a highly respected institution with a fantastic sporting reputation.
“It is a significant milestone in our developing relationship and we are confident that MMU is the correct partner to continue the sporting legacy left by Manchester City.”
The City first team was based at the complex for 22 years before moving to a new training ground in Carrington in 2001.
Since then the club’s youth team players - including 45 who went on to play for the first team - trained at the facility.
Manchester City's Frank Lampard playing like a teenager says Pablo Zabalata
Frank Lampard is "still playing like he's 18 years old" and driving Manchester City's Premier League title race with former club Chelsea, according to Pablo Zabaleta.
Full-back Zabaleta hailed Lampard's growing influence as the City hierarchy consider whether to seek an extension to the 36-year-old's loan deal.
Former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard fired his 174th Premier League goal in City's 3-0 victory at Southampton on Sunday.
The ex-West Ham star is scheduled to join New York City FC in January after leaving Chelsea last summer, but Manchester City remain keen to extend his stay in the north west.
"For me what makes Frank Lampard special is how professional he is in training: this is what I appreciate from him," said Zabaleta.
"You see him at training: he is the first to arrive on the training ground and the last to go home.
"He won everything with Chelsea, he's a legend in football and he's still playing like he's 18 years old."
Lampard coolly slotted City's second and decisive goal at St Mary's on Sunday, helping Manuel Pellegrini's side shrug off a red card for defender Eliaquim Mangala and leapfrog Saints into second place in the Premier League table, closing the gap on leaders Chelsea to six points.
Pellegrini's men face Sunderland on Wearside tonight, with midfield general Yaya Toure pledging to ignore criticis of his early-season fight for form.
The Ivory Coast star is ready to put a hectic 12 months behind him and lead City's title race against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.
Toure, who struck City's first goal at Saints on Sunday, has endured the death of his brother, detractors of his form and a spat with club bosses over his birthday.
Now though, the 31-year-old is fully focused on bringing more silverware to the Etihad Stadium.
"For me the most important thing is I try to do my best for the team," said Toure.
"Sometimes people are not thinking we are human beings, people are always trying to criticise you even though you are a human being.
"So I never think about those things, I always try to focus on my team.
"The Premier League is important, and whenever we lose we will get criticised.
"Teams will always step up their game against us, and we know we've got to try to keep place with Chelsea."
Arsenal are considering a £20m move for Bayer Leverkusen's Christoph Kramer, 23, if they fail to land fellow Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, from Real Madrid. (Daily Star)
Roma are weighing up a January move for £7m-rated Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32. (DSSC)
Paris St-Germain head coach Laurent Blanc has played down talk that the Ligue 1 giants will approach striker Thierry Henry, 37, who left New York Red Bulls this week, with an offer of a short-term deal. (London Evening Standard)
However, Turkish side Galatasaray are interested in signing the Frenchman. (TalkSHIT)
Liverpool have offered Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto, 25, a £125,000-a-week contract to join them in January as Simon Mignolet's replacement. (Metro)
Forward Lukas Podolski, 29, is open to a move away from Arsenal, with a return to his boyhood team Cologne a possibility. (Daily Star)
Former Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye, 28, is considering quitting Paris St-Germain in the next transfer window just a year after joining the club, according to team-mate Javier Pastore. (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal are weighing up a move for Tottenham defender Vlad Chiriches, 24, in January. (Daily Express)
Inter Milan have joined Leicester City and Newcastle in the race to sign Villarreal striker Luciano Vietto, 20. (TalkSHIT)
Tottenham midfielder Paulinho, 26, is a target for Brazilian clubs Sao Paulo and Corinthians. (Daily Mirror)
Buenos Aires club Boca Juniors want to sign Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo, 28, who has scored seven goals in 15 games while on loan at Inter Milan. (DSSC)
Everton boss Roberto Martinez has stressed he has had no contact from Arsenal regarding James McCarthy, 24, and that he looks forward to seeing the midfielder stay with the Toffees "for a long, long time". (London Evening Standard)
Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta, 25, has brushed off reports linking him to Barcelona and Real Madrid and pledged his future to the Blues. (Daily Express)
Former England striker Emile Heskey, 37, is training with Bolton in an effort to earn a deal at the Macron Stadium. (Bolton News)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he believes he can lead the Gunners to the Premier League title within the next three seasons. (Sun)
Wenger also says Arsenal legend Thierry Henry should be granted a final international appearance for France in a friendly against Brazil. (Independent)
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says his side could blow the title if they get distracted trying to become the next "Invincibles". (Daily Star)
Mourinho also hinted that defender John Terry, 33, who is out of contract at the end of the season, could be offered a new deal. (Sun)
Everton will wait until the summer to offer forward Kevin Mirallas, 27, a new deal, says boss Roberto Martinez. (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says the FA Cup, which the club have not won since 2004, is one of his main priorities this season. (Manchester Evening News)
QPR could be hit with a multi-million-pound penalty for breaching financial fair play regulations. (Guardian)
Arsenal are ready to make a £33m transfer move in January for Palermo's 21-year-old Argentine forward Paulo Dybala. (Tuttosport - in Italian)
French forward Andre-Pierre Gignac, 28, has hinted he could leave Marseille this summer. (Le Figaro)
German clubs Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg are interested in Marseille's 24-year-old Ghanaian midfielder Andre Ayew. (Bild)
Napoli manager Rafa Benitez wants to sign Manolo Gabbiadini but Sampdoria are unlikely to let go of the 23-year-old Italian forward. (Tuttosport)
Juventus could sign Sampdoria's 19-year-old Italian defender Alessio Romagnoli as they look to inject young talent into the side. (Tuttosport)
German side Schalke want to retain Klaas-Jan Huntelaar until the end of his career and are looking at an annuity contract for the 31-year-old forward. (Bild)
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller feels compatriot Manuel Neuer, 28, deserves to win the Golden Ball and that giving the award to Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo for a second consecutive year would be "boring". (Marca)
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker on Twitter: "Went to the same school, played for the same club, and the same country....different tailor though @EmileHeskeyUK."
West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell, whose side beat West Brom 2-1, tweeted : "Another big win from the boys! Ugly but good away win! Happy days."
The Argentine town of El Chanar has honoured the country's national football team by naming a number of streets after Lionel Messi, 27, Sergio Aguero, 26, and Angel Di Maria, 26. (Metro)
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