• Champions League

Kolarov ruled out for City against CSKA

Manchester City will be without injured defender Aleksandar Kolarov for their crucial Champions League clash against CSKA Moscow.

The left-back, who was hurt in the warm-up before Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester United, has been ruled out for a month with a calf problem.

City will also be without David Silva, who has a knee injury, and Frank Lampard, who is aiming to return for Saturday's game against Queens Park Rangers following a thigh problem.

Pellegrini: Yaya won't be affected by abuse

Toure has reactivated his Twitter account © Getty Images

• Manuel Pellegrini is confident Yaya Toure will not be affected by being racially abused on Twitter when he returns to action against CSKA Moscow.
• Police are investigating comments made to Toure after he reactivated his Twitter account following City's derby win against Manchester United.
• But Pellegrini believes that Toure, who was racially abused by CSKA supporters last year, will be able to concentrate on Wednesday's match at the Etihad Stadium.
• "Yaya is an experienced player," said Pellegrini. "He is always trying to fight against those things [racism] but I don't think he will have any problem about playing in the way he knows to."

Kolarov is unlikely to play again until December while Lampard has missed City's last four games but Pellegrini confirmed that centre-back Eliaquim Mangala, who missed the Manchester derby, is fit again.

"He is in the squad list," Pellegrini said of Mangala. "Kolarov has an important muscle injury in his calf so he will be [out for] at least one month. I think Frank will be fit next week."

Despite failing to taste victory in a European match this season, Pellegrini also says City must believe they can still win the Champions League.

"Of course our target is always to try and win the Champions League," he added. "We must put in our mind that we are able to do it; that we have a good squad.

"Maybe there are also five or six squads better than our squad or the same level as our squad that also want to do it. But with a winning mentality and an ambitious mind, you must always think you can do it. I think we have time to prove it."

City are only third in Group E and can take a maximum of 11 points but Pellegrini insisted: "There are teams that qualify with few points and then after that they won the Champions League."

Pellegrini deemed Wednesday's match against CSKA Moscow a must-win game but denied City have entered sudden death and feels their campaign will come down to their final group game, against Roma in the Stadio Olimpico in December.

He added: "We must win this game because we have just two points and we have three games to play. It is a very important game but it is not a death match because until [it is mathematically impossible], you can continue.

"It is impossible to be sure but I think this group will be decided in the last game in Italy against Roma."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd