Manuel Pellegrini Readies Sergio Aguero and Frank Lampard, Defends Yaya Toure

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is galvanising his troops in preparation for Sunday's visit of Chelsea, insisting key stars Sergio Aguero, Frank Lampard and Yaya Toure are all ready for the clash.

The reigning champions will host this season's title favourites at the Etihad Stadium, and Pellegrini insists Aguero will be fit to play an instrumental role in the fixture, per Paul Handler of the Manchester Evening News:

"

Sergio in this moment is not ready to play three games in a row in one week. 

That's why I thought it was better for him and for the squad not to play him for 90 minutes against Bayern. 

He's fresh for Sunday and I am sure that we will make a difference. 

When he is 100 percent fit he makes a difference.

"

Jose Mourinho also chose to rest his star striker in midweek as Didier Drogba started in the 1-1 draw against Schalke, leaving both forwards in the best possible condition for this weekend's high-stakes encounter.

The Premier League compares the pair in their performances this season, showing Diego Costa to be the more in-form asset as far as minutes per goal are concerned:

In his absence, Aguero has seen the likes of Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic ease the burden up front for the most part, but a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday also highlighted his importance to the squad.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

And Pellegrini insists his midfield will also be at full strength, quashing any speculation that Lampard may not turn out against his former club, while Toure isn't to be burdened with blame for the side's recent failures.

The Daily Star's Chris McKenna writes that the Ivory Coast international had courted some criticism from the club's support for his performance against Bayern, but his manager has leapt to his defence, saying:

"

I don't think it is fair for me to pick out what Yaya did in the last game. 

Normally when we win or lose it's because the team did good or bad. 

I don't agree Yaya has all the responsibility. 

Yaya always has a commitment with the squad and team. 

There are no concerns about his form.

"

Of Lampard's involvement on Sunday, he added: "I'm sure he will be part of the squad. I don't think it's a difficult situation for him."

This will be Lampard's first encounter against the club with whom he spent the last 13 years of his career before departing for New York City FC on a free transfer this summer, joining the Citizens on loan until January.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Sunday's outing, should he appear, will also be Lampard's home debut for Manchester City, a fitting circumstance should his input lead to any downfall for the visitors.

Should they win, Chelsea have an opportunity to open up a five-point gap at the top of the table, pending other results. As things stand, the Blues are 58 percent favourites to win this season's title, per Betting Expert, while City are stark underdogs for silverware at just 22 percent.

Toure has failed to hit the heights of last season thus far in 2014-15, but Jamie Redknapp holds a belief in his Daily Mail column that it won't be long before he's back at his best:

Pellegrini will certainly hope so if his team are to keep hold of any early hopes in retaining their Premier League title, which would suffer an almighty blow with a home defeat to Mourinho's men.

The Chilean is in need of a bounce back to form after seeing his side fail to win any of their last three games across all competitions, and there wouldn't be a better time to do so than with a dethroning of the rampant league leaders.