Manuel Pellegrini has no regrets over putting all Manchester City's eggs in one basket to reach Champions League final

Pellegrini saw a much-changed side turned over 4-2 at Southampton, but it will have been worth it if City can beat Real Madrid on Wednesday

Manuel Pellegrini says he does not regret playing a weakened side against Southampton (Getty)

Manchester City are trying to move on as quickly as possible from Sunday's Southampton embarrassment as they prepare for one of the biggest games in their history.

City play the Champions League semi-final second-leg on Wednesday night, away at Real Madrid, knowing that any win or score draw will be enough to see them through to the final in Milan on 28 May. After another disappointing season in the Premier League - City are fighting to finish fourth - it would be a remarkable climax to Manuel Pellegrini's three-year reign even to reach the final, never mind win it.

That is why Pellegrini has been putting all his eggs in the Champions League basket all season. That is why, in February, he picked a team of teenagers for an FA Cup game at Stamford Bridge, so he could field a full-strength team who won 3-1 at Dynamo Kyiv in the next week. And that is why on Sunday he made eight changes, putting out a team who Southampton ran through, all to make sure City are at full strength on Wednesday.

So there were no regrets on Sunday evening, even if Pellegrini obviously felt let down by some of the non-performances from players who know they will not play in Madrid. "I would do exactly the same again," Pellegrini said. "Because we have an important game on Wednesday that we play now, to reach the final of the Champions League."

The one positive from Sunday was Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored two goals and was responsible for the few good things that City did. Even he was keen to move on as quickly as possible. "It is not a big blow, because we have played now and we need to focus on the next game against Madrid," Iheanacho said. "So we need to put this game behind us because it is gone and not going to come back. The game is gone, and lost, so keep it behind us and focus on the next games."

City's team in Madrid will certainly look very different from the side who lost at Southampton. Vincent Kompany and Kevin de Bruyne, who played no part, will come back into the team. So will Sergio Aguero, who was an unused substitute, along with Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy. Fernando will add ballast to the midfield. One question mark is over the fitness of Yaya Toure but Pellegrini said that he has been "working normally" over the last few days. With no David Silva, City will certainly need him.

The likelihood is that Toure would play as a number 10, pushing De Bruyne out wide. That would probably be preferable to playing Raheem Sterling who produced another disappointing performance, missing one good chance and being otherwise anonymous. Pellegrini had a chance to defend him on Sunday but merely said that he "does not analyse individual players".