Yaya Toure Return Will Spark Manchester City Premier, Champions League Ambitions

Manuel Pellegrini will welcome back Yaya Toure for Manchester City’s home match with Newcastle United on Saturday.

City’s record without the influential Ivorian is questionable, having won just once while he was competing at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, and Pellegrini has spoken of his happiness to have him available again:

"

I think Yaya is a very important player. We didn’t win a lot of games without him, but that is not the only problem.

In that same moment, our strikers were coming back from long injuries. Both things together maybe was too much for our team, but we don’t depend just on one player. But they are important players, and I am happy he has come back.

"

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

City gave arguably their best performance of the season in their most recent Premier League match, away at Stoke City, particularly in the second half, winning the game 4-1 and showing a desire to score more goals despite the game being won.

However, that came after a poor run of form that saw them go five games without a win for the first time since 2009, with Toure’s drive in midfield sorely missing.

Toure is a leader on the pitch, capable of picking the ball up and running directly toward goal, causing panic in opposition defenders.

He had scored six goals in the nine games before he departed, with his influence increasing with each 90 minutes. After a somewhat difficult start to the season, leading to suggestions he was on the decline, he’s proved his status as one of the finest midfielders in world football remains intact.

His international team-mate Wilfried Bony is also available for selection on Saturday and looks set to make his debut. Pellegrini believes his new £25 million signing can have a significant impact.

“I think that Bony will be an important player for us,” the City boss said. Pellegrini continued:

"

He will be in the squad list. We will see if he will be in the starting XI or after that have some minutes, but he has worked with our team the whole week without any problems.

He is a player that plays here in England. He knows the Premier League, [and] he knows our team, so I think it will be easy for him to settle in in a good way.

He can play with [Sergio] Aguero, he can play with [Edin] Dzeko, he can play with [Stevan] Jovetic, he can play with [David] Silva, he can play with all the players in our team.

"

Bony looks set to be a replacement for Alvaro Negredo, whose partnership with Aguero for the first half of last season was the best at City for many years.

Like Negredo, Bony possesses physical attributes that mean he can play with his back to goal and bring others into play, but he is also an intelligent player, with deft touches and wonderful vision.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

If Bony can strike up an understanding with Aguero, the finest finisher in the Premier League, and Toure can regain the form he showed before his departure to the Afcon, City’s title ambitions, which have been damaged by their poor run, may be boosted at just the right time.

And with City set to face Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game, the whole complexion of City's season could be about to change. It's been a season of ups and downs so far, but with the fresh impetus Toure and Bony could provide, Pellegrini will be hoping his side can now go on the kind of run needed to close the gap on Chelsea and move into uncharted Champions League territory.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.