Manuel Pellegrini insists he will not be changing his tactics for today’s FA Cup clash with Chelsea, despite his Manchester City side losing their two previous encounters with Jose Mourinho’s men.

Chelsea have won both Premier League games between the sides this season, with their 1-0 win at the Etihad stadium less than two weeks ago providing one of the season’s most pivotal moments thus far.

The win was seen as a tactical triumph – with some media outlets going so far as to call it a ‘brilliant tactical masterclass’ – for Mourinho, with Pellegrini’s 4-4-2 formation exposed badly on the counter attack while his team was overwhelmed in the middle of the field. The win left Pellegrini with one win from his nine encounters with Mourinho.

Pellegrini, however, is steadfast in his conviction that squad disruption due to injuries, and not tactics, were the root cause of that defeat.

"I am absolutely sure that in the previous game it was not a problem with tactics,” Pellegrini said.

"The squad had a lot of changes and we had three or four clear chances before they scored.

"If we'd scored we could have scored again.

"If we'd scored first the result could have been different but the tactics would have been the same,” he added.

Much of the criticism of the formation also focused on the poor performance of Martin Demichelis. The Argentinian performed poorly alongside Yaya Toure, putting in an ineffective performance in the unusual role of central midfield. Demichelis, a central defender, had come in to the side due to the absence of Fernandinho. The Brazilian will play no part in today’s tie, but Pellegrini’s defiance over his tactical performance extended to a belief that Fernandinho’s absence was not a critical factor.

"In the first half they had one (goal scoring chance) when we missed a pass and it resulted in a counter-attack, and they scored the goal they got.

"It was not because we didn't have Fernandinho, it was because we made a mistake with a pass. We were not in order,” Pellegrini said.

For an in-depth analysis of the tactical battle in the recent Premier League game, and a specific look at the changes Pellegrini might make to counteract Chelsea’s tactics, take a look at Newstalk's tactical breakdown of the last meeting between the sides.