Manchester City confident of Champions League pogression

Pelligrini hopes "more experience" will help City's Champions League push after last year's exit to Barcelona

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes his side will reach the Champions League knockout stage.

The Premier League champions, seeded lower than third-placed Chelsea and fourth-placed Arsenal, drew Bayern Munich, AS Roma and CSKA Moscow.

City, who are in Group E, finished behind Bayern on goal difference to qualify for the last 16 last season.

And Pellegrini said: "This year with more experience, I am absolutely sure we are going to continue."

In last season's Champions League group stage, CSKA Moscow fans racially abused Yaya Toure and European football's governing body Uefa ordered the partial closing of the Arena Khimki.

Pellegrini added: "I hope they learned about that. I suppose this year we're not going to have any problems. I hope that for CSKA, it is a lesson that they will learn."

Meanwhile, Pellegrini said that striker Sergio Aguero is fit for Saturday's Premier League game against Stoke at the Etihad Stadium, but new signing Eliaquim Mangala is "not ready".

He would, however, not be drawn on outgoings before the transfer window closes with the likes of Matija Nastasic, Micah Richards, Scott Sinclair and John Guidetti expected to leave.

"We will see what happens with them in the next 48 hours," he said. "They know at the moment they are not part of the squad because we have enough players."

West Ham United and a Serie A club have expressed an interest in defender Richards, 26.