Player ratings: Manchester City v Birmingham City

Pantilimon – The Romanian giant is surprisingly known for shot stopping rather than catching crosses and this is an area the coaching staff need to work on. He’ll also need more games against English opposition before we can be confident of him as a deputy for Joe Hart. 6

Onuoha – Welcome back Nedum. Strong in defence but lacked the deftness of touch required in the attacking third. 6

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Carling Cup preview: Manchester City v Birmingham City

The Carling Cup may lack the glamour of the Champions League but there is plenty to interest City fans this evening. Grabbing all the headlines is the likely debut of Owen Hargreaves, three years to the day after he last played a full 90 minutes.

Kolo Toure is also set to return and hopefully we can get a good look at Stefan Savic, who will be hoping for his first competitive start. Roberto Mancini has also promised to have some youngsters on the bench.

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