Pellegrini Reckons City Can Stun Real

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has said he is confident his side have the ability to defeat Spanish giants Real Madrid in their own back yard tonight.

The stakes will be huge at the Bernabeu, with the Champions League semi-final hanging in the balance after last week's 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

And, having missed the first leg due to injury, prolific forward Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be in the Real Madrid line-up.

But Pellegrini says City have more to worry about than just Ronaldo, and pointed out that they have their own game-changing forward in the shape of Sergio Aguero.

"Cristiano will always be a different player," said Pellegrini at his pre-match press conference in Madrid. "He scores a lot of goals and has throughout his six years here.

"However, I don't think Real are just Cristiano Ronaldo. We must work as a team, defending and attacking. Not just against Ronaldo, but against Real Madrid.

"I always say these kind of games are decided by the best technical players. We have Sergio and I am sure we will see him in a good performance."

City have secured good away results at Borussia Monchengladbach, Sevilla, Dynamo Kiev and Paris St Germain this season, and Pellegrini thinks they have developed a successful way of playing away from home.

"In the three seasons in the Champions League, we have played very well away," said Pellegrini.

"We will continue trying to play in exactly the same way. The pressure in the Bernabeu is high pressure, but I think we have the personality and the football to try to beat them.

"Everyone must trust in their team. We trust in ours and I hope we can demonstrate it in the 90 minutes. We are sure we will need to make a very good performance to reach the final, it would be the first time we've reached it."

David Silva and Pablo Zabaleta will have to sit out the game, but, contrary to reports that he has not travelled with the squad, Yaya Toure is expected to be available after missing two games with a thigh injury.

"I don't know the news that Toure wasn't travelling because he trained without problem the whole week," said Pellegrini.

"He has a lot of experience and quality. He won a Champions League for Barcelona here, so he will be important."