Manchester City seek final spot

London: Thoughts of the 2013-14 run-in will be inspiring Manchester City’s players as they attempt to overturn a 2-1 deficit in Wednesday’s League Cup semifinal second leg against Everton.

Then, as now, City are chasing glory on four fronts and while they fell short in the Champions League and FA Cup two years ago, League Cup glory was to prove a precursor to victory in the Premier League title race.

Should Everton pull off a repeat of the 0-0 draw they recorded at the Etihad Stadium two weeks ago, they will progress to a first League Cup final since 1984, but City defender Nicolas Otamendi is confident that he and his teammates now have the measure of Roberto Martinez’s men.

“The first leg, away at Everton, wasn’t good for us and we didn’t play anywhere near as well as we can, but we must think there are still 90 minutes to go and we can do it,” the Argentine said.

“Everton are a good side and didn’t get to the semifinals by luck. They travel very well and have only lost once in the league on the road all season, so we know we face a battle.

“I think the major factor will be home advantage. We need our fans to make plenty of noise, get behind us from the first moment and lift us when we need it.”
City drew 2-2 at West Ham United leaving them three points below leaders Leicester City.

NASRI HOPES TO RETURN BY MARCH

Midfielder Samir Nasri expects to return to action by end of March after initially fearing he could miss rest of the season with a thigh injury he picked up in October.

“The original estimate by the doctors was that I’d be out for between four to six months and the surgeon told me the same. But I”ve already done two months and I’m targeting the March to be back properly.,”he added.