Manuel Pellegrini has pledged to name the strongest Manchester City side possible for their final Champions League Group D fixture against Borussia Monchengladbach.
City must beat the German visitors at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday to have a chance of topping the group ahead of Juventus, potentially earning an easier draw in the knockout round.
Pellegrini said injuries to Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany have left him unable to rotate his squad for the Gladbach match.
"We cannot protect the players because we must try to win the game to finish top of the group," said the Chilean.
"If you are asking me what is more important, of course it is the Premier League and to win the title but you need names to make changes and we do not have those names. All those names are injured."
City lost 2-0 at Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday but Pellegrini stressed it is important "not to lose the complete view".
He added: "We are [near the] top of the table and [still] in all the competitions [but] of course losing like we did against Stoke or against Liverpool is not the way a big team must do it."
‘After Manchester City’s recent form, maybe they’re the underdogs against Manchester United!’ Former Red Devils defender on this weekend’s derby
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
