The FourFourTwo Preview: Man City vs Tottenham

The Etihad Stadium has become a fortress for Pellegrini this season with 20 goals having been scored in their five consecutive Premier League victories.

However, Spurs have won on seven of their last 10 trips to Eastlands in the league and triumphed 3-1 in last season's corresponding fixture.

Futhermore, Andre Villas-Boas' side have kept clean sheets in all but one of their nine matches in all competitions on the road this term.

Despite the omens seemingly stacked against his side, Pellegrini remains confident in his side's hopes of a victory that would keep City in touch with the teams at the top of the table.

"It is a tough match," he said. "I think they are a very good team.

"They have good players and play very good football. If we want to continue winning at home we need to play a very good game.

"I think it is a special Premier League this year. There are six or seven teams within four or five points. We will see what happens in the future.

"Finally, the team that plays the better football is the team that wins the league. We will see which of the six or seven teams will continue from now until the end of the season."

One point separates the two sides in the Premier League table but they both come into the match on the back of defeats before the international break.

City suffered their fourth away defeat of the season to Sunderland, while Tottenham could not get past Newcastle United at White Hart Lane.

Pellegrini has injury worries to two of his star players - captain Vincent Kompany (thigh) and David Silva (calf) are both out of this match, while Stevan Jovetic (calf) also continues to be absent.

Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose (both ankle) are Tottenham's only injury worries ahead of the match, with a host of players' returning for Villas-Boas.