City won't ditch attacking principles

Manchester - Manuel Pellegrini vows Manchester City will aim for another goal glut as the most prolific side in the Premier League set their sights on struggling Norwich City on Saturday.

The Premier League leaders suffered a rare blank last Sunday when they ground out a 0-0 draw against arch rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

That was the first time City had failed to score this season and, despite picking up a useful point away to one of their title rivals, their conservative tactics drew criticism from some quarters.

However, City manager Pellegrini has made it clear he doesn't expect a repeat against Norwich after normal service was resumed in midweek when a 5-1 win over Crystal Palace took City into the League Cup quarter-finals.

"It is the way we normally play. Maybe it was an accident on Sunday that especially in the second half we couldn't create chances," Pellegrini said.

"But it is not our style, so it was very important for the team to return to score goals."

City have scored 18 goals in their last four games at Eastlands across four different competitions.

The last three of those games didn't involve leading scorer Sergio Aguero, who remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Midfielders David Silva and Samir Nasri could both return and Norwich, who lost 6-2 in their last away game and have kept only one clean sheet all season.