Can Manchester City juggle top-four push with Champions League commitments?

Manchester City are fighting on two fronts in the middle of a momentous week for their season.

Manuel Pellegrini's men continue their top-four push with a vital trip to Southampton on Super Sunday, and just three days later, they are at the Bernabeu for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.

It is a quick turnaround in a pivotal period for City, and Pellegrini addressed the issue after Tuesday's first leg ended in a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium - pointing out that Madrid have a kinder schedule as they travel to Real Sociedad on Saturday.

"Before we go to Madrid, we must continue here in the Premier League against a difficult team in Southampton with three very important points," he said wearily. "Unfortunately for us, we are going to have one day less resting than Real Madrid, who play on Saturday."

 

With Manchester United hoping to make up ground in fifth place and Arsenal also vying to finish as high up the table as possible, City can ill afford to drop points on the south coast, where they face an in-form Saints side who have won four of their last six games.
So how have City coped after midweek Champions League fixtures this season? Well, with five wins, three draws and two losses, their record is mixed. City suffered defeats to West Ham and Manchester United immediately after clashes with Juventus and Dynamo Kiev, and there were also disappointing draws with United and Aston Villa after their group-stage meetings with Sevilla.

City's record after Champions League fixtures - 2015/16

P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win %
10	5	3	2	18	8	50%

On a more encouraging note for City, they claimed emphatic wins over Newcastle and Chelsea directly after facing Borussia Monchengladbach and Paris Saint-Germain, and they also beat Sunday's opponents Southampton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium just three days after an away game against Juventus in November.

City eased to a 3-0 win over Chelsea after beating Paris Saint-Germain in April

Pellegrini faces important decisions on his team selection as he eyes a repeat of those results on Sunday. Does he stick with his strongest side to give them the best possible chance of beating Southampton? Or does he rotate to keep things fresh between City's meetings with Madrid?
Recent history suggests he is likely to tweak his line-up. City have made a minimum of three changes in eight of the 10 games that have directly followed their Champions League fixtures this season. Pellegrini will have to decide whether to rest the likes of Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero, while he is also expected to be without David Silva, who suffered an injury on Tuesday night.

City's results after Champions League fixtures - 2015/16

Opposition	Result	No. of changes
West Ham (h)	1-2 L	4
Newcastle (h)	6-1 W	3
Man Utd (a)	0-0 D	3
Aston Villa (a)	0-0 D	1
Southampton (h)	3-1 W	4
Swansea (h)	2-1 W	3
Liverpool (n)	1-1* D	1
Man Utd (h)	0-1 L	4
West Brom (h)	2-1 W	5
Chelsea (a)	3-0 W	4

It's a conundrum for Pellegrini and a big challenge for City. Striking the right balance will be crucial if they are to continue fighting on two fronts.