Manuel Pellegrini: 'We can cope without Yaya Toure'

Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that Manchester City are capable of beating Chelsea without Yaya Toure.

The champions have failed to win any of their three games since the Ivorian departed for the Africa Cup of Nations, and he will continue to be absent for Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at Stamford Bridge.

However, Pellegrini has stressed that City have already proven that they can get big-game results without their influential midfielder.

"He's an important player but we qualified against Roma and beat Bayern Munich without him," he told reporters. "Teams don't depend on one player."

Toure has scored nine goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for the Citizens this season.