Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has told Manuel Pellegrini that he must get used to the "balancing act" at Manchester City.

The Chilean made six changes to the Citizens side ahead of their 0-0 draw with the Potters on Saturday, prior to their Champions League opener at Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night.

When asked about Pellegrini's rotation policy, former City manager Hughes said: "You need to know what the Premier League is like. It's unforgiving and no game is easy. You can't really place one game above another because you can come unstuck.

"Very rarely do you get teams from the bottom beating the top [abroad] but in the Premier League you always have examples of that, and that's why everyone watches it.

"That's a balancing act that Manuel Pellegrini will have to cope with. It's not easy, but he has got great riches there in terms of talent."

Hughes was sacked as the head coach of City in 2009 after just over a year in charge.