Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insists he had no choice but to "risk" playing a weakened team ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.

The Chilean opted to rotate his squad on Sunday and City were punished, suffering a 4-2 loss to Southampton to hurt their chances of a top-four finish.

Pellegrini's men are four points clear of fifth-placed city rivals Manchester United, who have a game in hand late in the Premier League season.

Despite the loss, Pellegrini said it was a decision he had to make ahead of the trip to Madrid for Wednesday's second leg.

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"I'd do exactly the same thing again because we have an important game on Wednesday when we play the semi-final of the Champions League," he said.

"We continue [fighting] depending on what we do in the next two games [to see] if we are going to be in the top four.

"So I think it was a risk, but a risk we were forced to take."

City are in a decent spot heading to Spain, having held the La Liga giants to a 0-0 draw in the first leg.

Pellegrini said he would assess the fitness of star duo Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure on Monday.