City’s Caballero backs himself to fill Hart’s boots

REUTERS – Manchester City’s backup keeper Willy Caballero is confident he can fill in for Joe Hart if the knock the England No.1 picked up against Juventus in midweek rules him out of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Southampton.

Hart strained a hamstring against the Italian champions on Wednesday night, making way for Caballero in the 81st minute, and is a doubt for the visit of eighth-placed Southampton.

Caballero’s sole Premier League appearance of the season so far came in City’s 4-1 drubbing by Tottenham Hotspur on Sept.26, a game in which he admits he played poorly.

“Always when you play badly or commit errors, you hope to play another game to put it behind you, to show that you are capable and that you deserve to be playing for an important team like City,” the Argentine was quoted as saying by the British media.

“Of course it is not good that Joe had to come off, but I have to be prepared – that is the life of a substitute goalkeeper.

“Of course we hope that Joe recovers. He is a goalkeeper of the very highest level and he is playing very, very well.

“It is a nice opportunity for me to play a couple of games consecutively, but that depends on how Joe is and then it is up to the manager. I will train and I will be ready.”

Caballero, signed from manager Manuel Pellegrini’s former club Malaga at the start of last season, has made three Premier League starts since he joined City, who will be hoping to get their title challenge back on track after being knocked off the top of the table by Liverpool last weekend.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)