Manchester City v Roma: Zabaleta ready for crucial clash

Pablo Zabaleta admits Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League clash with Roma on Tuesday already has a must-win feel to it.

The Premier League title holders began Group E with a heartbreaking loss at Bayern Munich, when Jerome Boateng’s last-gasp deflected shot settled the game, while Roma crushed CSKA Moscow 5-1.

City have since secured a 1-1 draw with domestic table toppers Chelsea before morale-boosting wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City, scoring 11 goals in those two victories.

“Our job is to try to keep winning games and now we need to turn the page and just think about Champions League,” defender Zabaleta told CityTV.

“We lost the first game against Bayern Munich, now we play Roma at home and we know how important it is to win that game.

“It’s going to be another tough game, because Roma are a good team, but hopefully we can play well and get three points.

“I missed the first game because I was suspended, but obviously the Champions League is one of the competitions where everyone wants to play, as it is very special, so hopefully I will get selected on Tuesday.”

City boss Manuel Pellegrini faces several selection dilemmas, but the big debate will be over who gets the nod as goalkeeper for the Etihad Stadium clash, with Willy Caballero having replaced Joe Hart for the last couple of games.

Pellegrini must also decide whether to continue with the new centre-half partnership of Belgium captain Vincent Kompany and rising French star Eliaquim Mangala following the latter’s own goal at Hull.

Kompany believes that blip is best forgotten and insists he has been impressed by the powerfully-built 23-year-old, stating: “The main thing is that he has adapted really well.

“We speak the same language, so it’s really easy in that sense, he’s young and eager to learn and I think he’s got the right set-up to become one of the top, top defenders here. So far, so good.”

However, City will face a Roma outfit in red-hot form and full of confidence after they made it five straight Serie A victories this season when beating Verona 2-0 on Saturday.

Former Arsenal striker Gervinho bagged a brace of goals in their matchday one rout of CSKA and believes the Italian side can spring a surprise by qualifying from a group that City and Bayern were originally tipped to dominate.

“Roma can go a long way,” the Ivory Coast forward told the UEFA website. “We have an objective, to qualify for the knockout stages, and we hope we can make it.

“Manchester City and Bayern are very strong clubs with good teams and the games against both of them are going to be very difficult, but I have faith in our side and I believe we will qualify.”

Past history is not on Roma’s side, though, as they have won only once in 14 previous visits to England and infamously lost 7-1 against City’s neighbours Manchester United at Old Trafford back in April 2007.