City’s in-form midfield enforcer reckons that Mark Hughes’ men need to be aiming for a perfect home record in the Barclays Premier League if they are to infiltrate the top four come May.
But he will be on his guard having played 90 minutes against the Fulham mix-and-match XI that stubbornly took the Blues to extra time before captain Kolo Toure squeezed his side through.
De Jong cautioned: “There’s no way it will be an easy game. They were quite tough in that cup-tie and they won here in the League last season as well. They will be giving 100 per cent to repeat.
“They are really compact as a team - they defend well and make it really difficult for you to crack their wall. They can play on the counter as well with the strength they have up front. We have to be prepared for that.
But we are back at our own stadium so it is very important that we win to keep up the momentum of our start. We must try to win every home game this season
Nigel de Jong
The Holland midfielder, who had to sit on the bench for the opening matches, believes that hunger to impress Roy Hodgson contributed to the Fulham irregulars’ grand display in the cup-tie.
He added: “You have to be patient and wait for your chance, but when it comes you have to take it. We have a lot of quality players and they are all on their toes for a place.
“Maintaining your place isn’t easy and the coach has to make certain choices that you, in turn, have to accept. Your mentality has to be that you fight to make sure he can’t leave you out.”
