With City flying to Ukraine to face Dynamo Kiev just 24 hours after Sunday's showdown with Chelsea, the FA Cup tie could not have come at a worse time for Pellegrini, who is reluctant to field his strongest side.
"I think it the FA Cup is a serious competition and not a competition you can throw away," said the Chilean, whose side were beaten at home by the Premier League's top two, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, in their last two matches.
"But at this moment... the chance to try and get to the Champions League quarter-final for the first time, I think it's a case where we are going to prioritise."
"But at this moment... the chance to try and get to the Champions League quarter-final for the first time, I think it's a case where we are going to prioritise."
While both teams will line up at Stamford Bridge on the back of defeats, Chelsea are no doubt aware that the Cup presents their best chance of ending the season with a trophy.
Hovering in the bottom half of the Premier League is bad enough but a 2-1 defeat at Paris St Germain on Tuesday has left Chelsea in danger of going out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage -- with the second leg to come on March 9.
Hiddink had led Chelsea on a 12-match unbeaten run since taking over from the sacked Jose Mourinho in December but that streak ended on Tuesday when he was forced to reshuffle his back four for the PSG clash after captain John Terry was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Asked if Terry would return for the City game on Sunday, Hiddink said "Difficult."
This is, without doubt, the heavyweight tie of the fifth round of this season’s FA Cup. One of the main contenders for Cup glory will fall by the wayside here. Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes have been smashed with back to back home defeats. So they may take out their frustrations in the FA Cup on the weekend. Chelsea had an extra game in the weekend, losing at PSG in the UEFA Champions League and without their strongest back line, will likely be under pressure from the Citizens, who took a 3-0 win over the Blues in the Premier League back in August.
The second-coming of Guus Hiddink has done wonders for Chelsea this season but they have suffered a UEFA Champions League loss against PSG in the week. It’s not the result so much from that, but the extra effort that the Blues have put in which could end up hurting them in the FA Cup.
That snapped a 12 match unbeaten streak for Chelsa across all competitions so it will be interesting to see how they recover from that one. The Blues have kept just the one clean sheet in their last eight matches at the Bridge, highly unusual for them. With the loss of both John Terry and Kurt Zouma, their defence has been weakened at the moment as well.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool striker, Michael Owen is expecting to see both sides play out a draw forcing a replay at Etihad Stadium.
“I think Man City were badly done to with that penalty decision last Sunday, but the fact is that it was their second home defeat in an important match, and they aren’t playing to their potential at the moment. They look vulnerable,” Owen said.
“I think Man City were badly done to with that penalty decision last Sunday, but the fact is that it was their second home defeat in an important match, and they aren’t playing to their potential at the moment. They look vulnerable,” Owen said.
“Chelsea are certainly beginning to find their stride – even though Newcastle were very poor last Saturday night – and you have to go back to December 14 to find the last time they lost domestically, and they didn’t play badly in a 2-1 loss at PSG on Tuesday night. It’s a tricky game to call.”
Holders Arsenal will take on second tier Hull City today as they try to take another step towards becoming the first club since Blackburn Rovers in 1886 to win the FA Cup three years in a row.
It has been a quarter of a century since Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur won the Cup but Mauricio Pochettino's men will be eager to continue their high-flying league form when they host Crystal Palace on Sunday.
While Spurs and Arsenal are chasing a league-and-cup double, with both teams trailing Premier League leaders Leicester City by two points, Manchester United's chances of landing any domestic silverware lie solely with the FA Cup.
The managerial axe has been hovering above Louis van Gaal's neck for several weeks and, with rumours of former Chelsea boss Mourinho waiting in the wings to take over, the Dutchman knows he cannot afford any more false moves with United.
Last Saturday's league defeat by Sunderland dented United's hopes of securing a Champions League place next season and, should they lose to third tier Shrewsbury Town -- the lowest ranked team left in the FA Cup -- on Monday, Van Gaal is likely to be denied any further stay of execution.
In other fifth-round matches, Bournemouth host Everton in an all-Premier League tie, Watford play second tier Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United travel to Championship sides Reading and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
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