Manuel Pellegrini: Knows he must deliver in Europe
Manchester City open their UEFA Champions League campaign against Viktoria Plzen hoping to improve on their recent European record.
The Blues have failed to make it past the group stage in each of the past two seasons - with the 2012/13 campaign seeing their continental quest brought to an abrupt halt before Christmas.
Manuel Pellegrini has been drafted in to try and oversee a reversal in fortune - with the Chilean having previously enjoyed success with Villarreal and Malaga.
He would appear to have placed plenty of emphasis on Champions League progress after naming a much-changed side for Saturday's goalless draw at Stoke City in the Premier League.
City now need to prove that they are capable of juggling domestic and European commitments, with an expensively-assembled squad under pressure to deliver.
In contrast, Plzen are hoping to be the surprise package in Group D - with City, Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow representing sizeable scalps.
The Czech outfit are in decent form - having gone unbeaten through their opening eight fixtures in the league - and will take heart from the fact that they claimed five points on their Champions League bow in 2011/12 - including a memorable 2-2 draw with Italian heavyweights AC Milan.
Plzen
Czech champions Plzen, coached by former Czechoslovakia defender Pavel Vrba for the past five years, came through qualifying impressively, winning all six of the games they played in three rounds.
Defender Marian Cisovsky got forward to score five times - making him the joint-top scorer in the qualifying section - but he is a major doubt for the City clash with a calf complaint.
Radim Reznik will be hoping to land a place on the bench, but he must pass a late fitness test if he is to be involved on Tuesday.
Man City
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who has been out since suffering a groin injury in City's first game of the season, has travelled with the squad and is hoping to prove his fitness to play at the Doosan Arena.
His return would be much welcomed by Pellegrini, who is already without three other defenders.
Micah Richards (hamstring), Martin Demichelis (knee) and Gael Clichy are all sidelined, along with playmaker David Silva (thigh).
Previous game's starting line-ups
Team taken from FC Viktoria Plzen vs Maribor (UEFA Champions League Qualifying) on Wednesday 28th August 2013
Team taken from Manchester City vs Stoke City (Barclays Premier League) on Saturday 14th September 2013
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