Manchester City aim to bounce back from their Carling Cup heartache as they host Portsmouth on Sunday.
Blues aim to bounce back as Pompey problems mount
Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from their Carling Cup heartache as they host crisis club Portsmouth on Sunday.
The Blues return to Premier League action after an FA Cup win over Scunthorpe last weekend and a memorable two-legged semi-final with derby rivals Manchester United.
City travelled to Old Trafford for Wednesday's second leg with a 2-1 advantage but Wayne Rooney's stoppage-time winner secured a 4-3 aggregate win for United and dashed City's Wembley dream.
While the tie will go down in derby folklore, it will matter little right now to Roberto Mancini's men, who are intent on winning the club's first major trophy since 1976.
They will be hopeful of challenging for this year's FA Cup having won 4-2 at Scunthorpe to set up a fifth-round tie with Stoke, with United, Arsenal and Liverpool already out.
But first the Blues will attempt to get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track after losing 2-0 at Everton in their last league game.
And City have every right to be confident against rock-bottom Pompey as they hammered them 6-0 in the corresponding fixture last season, while Carlos Tevez's goal at Old Trafford took his recent tally to a remarkable 14 in 12 games.
Dramatic
It has been a dramatic week for Portsmouth too but again the attention has been on off-field events during a turbulent season for the South Coast club.
They too are in the FA Cup fifth round after beating Sunderland 2-1 last Saturday, while a 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers West Ham followed on Wednesday.
The lifting of Pompey's transfer embargo offered light at the end of the tunnel after ongoing financial problems, but their official website was temporarily shut down on Thursday due to an unpaid bill.
Then chief executive Peter Storrie admitted his position was 'almost untenable' after he and manager Avram Grant were left out of negotiations to sell goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and defender Younes Kaboul to Tottenham.
With the team five points adrift of safety at the bottom of the table, the decision to offload more key players offers little encouragement to Pompey fans.
Team news
City will be without record signing Robinho, who has rejoined Santos on a six-month loan deal in a bid to gain regular first-team football.
The superb form of Tevez and Craig Bellamy saw the Brazilian forward fall down the pecking order at Eastlands, and the return of Emmanuel Adebayor has added further competition for places up front.
The striker came off the bench against United for his first appearance since the gun attack on the Togo team bus before the African Cup of Nations.
Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure could come back into contention, although fellow defenders Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge (both knee) remain out.
Roque Santa Cruz (calf) is still sidelined while new signing Patrick Vieira is also battling to overcome a calf problem.
Portsmouth's first target after the transfer embargo was Spartak Moscow striker Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, although he is unlikely to be available for Sunday.
The former Arsenal and Birmingham player is set to move to Fratton Park on loan until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.
Midfielder Jamie O'Hara has returned for another loan spell from Tottenham while David Nugent is back from his stint at Burnley.
The Clarets are hoping to agree another loan deal for the striker but he will be available to face City.
Possible starting XI's
Man City: Given, Zabaleta, Richards, Boyata, Garrido, Kompany, Wright-Phillips, De Jong, Barry, Bellamy, Tevez.
Portsmouth: Begovic, Finnan, Hreidarsson, Kaboul, Wilson, Mokoena, Boateng, Mullins, Basinas, Utaka, Piquionne.
