Manchester City's seven goals against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup could signal the start of a goal-scoring frenzy for the Premier League champions, manager Manuel Pellegrini hopes.
City thrashed their Championship (second-tier) opponents with a glut of goals after half-time to cruise into the cup's fourth round on Wednesday and record their first win in five games in all competitions.
Chilean Pellegrini now wants his side to carry forward the momentum from that spectacular 45 minutes to Hull City on Saturday, where they will look to win their first league game in four matches after a home loss to Stoke City and draws with title rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
"It was a very useful match (against Sheffield Wednesday) for our team," he told a news conference on Friday.
"We were not scoring too many goals here at home. We did not win the last four games. We did not play badly but we didn't win. It is always important to win in the way we did on Wednesday and I hope this can continue in the future - especially tomorrow against Hull because in the Premier League, we cannot drop many points."
The Premier League champions are sixth in the standings after taking eight points from their opening five games.
Last year's FA Cup runners-up Hull have endured an indifferent start to their season, sitting in 10th place but without a league win since their 1-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers on the opening day.
Pellegrini is aware of the pitfalls awaiting his side at Hull though, after a hard-fought match there in the previous campaign.
"Hull is a difficult team to play away. Last year, it was not one of our best games because Vincent Kompany was sent off in the first 10 minutes but we played really well and we won," he said.
"I hope this year we can do it in the same way but I am sure we will find it tough at their home because they always play very strongly - especially in aerial duals."
One man the City manager will rely upon to open the goal-scoring floodgates is on-loan midfielder Frank Lampard. The former Chelsea player scored his first City goal against his old club to snatch a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad on Sunday, and followed that with two more goals against Sheffield Wednesday.
When asked if Lampard, on loan from City's affiliate Major League Soccer club New York City FC, might extend his stay in Manchester, Pellegrini was coy.
"Lampard has scored three goals in his last two games so he is a very important player for us," the 61-year-old said of the former England midfielder.
"He will stay with us here until his deal finishes in January. We will see after that what we are going to do. It is not a problem we have to analyse at this moment. We are in September and we still have October, November and December - three long months he will continue with us."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}