Hart attempted to play down fears of a lengthy lay-off by, claiming after the game that his hamstring merely felt “a little tight”, but with manager Manuel Pellegrini voicing concerns that the problem may be related to a recent back complaint, he is unlikely to be risked against Southampton.
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David Silva was rapturously received on a substitute cameo after nine matches out with an ankle injury and Pellegrini will hope the Spain playmaker’s return heralds more assured displays than this.
Belgium worldwide Kevin De Bruyne starred as Manchester City ended Southampton’s unbeaten away record in the Premier League this season with a disjointed 3-1 win on Saturday.
Manchester City midfielder David Silva insists there’s no reason to change their style of football.
“You never know which team will win in the Premier League – Liverpool came here and beat us but before that they lost to Crystal Palace and then Palace lost to Sunderland”.
“I know Joe is in an awesome moment and is playing really well”, said the Argentine shot stopper.
Last weekend’s 1-0 reverse at home to Stoke halted their momentum, but they are one of three teams with 20 points to their name and could end the weekend sixth if other results go their way.
For the visitors, they will be without the suspended Graziano Pelle, meaning Shane Long and Sadio Mane are likely to be named as the attacking players at the Etihad. You can’t win if you play at that level. But we can certainly cope, if we couldn’t I would be doing something wrong, because we’re only talking about one player in the squad.
“I never complain about players that are injured”, he said.
“It wasn’t a good week for us – we lost two games. We will see tomorrow [Sunday]”.
Caballero replaced Hart during the closing stages of Wednesday’s 1-0 Champions League loss to Juventus and he could be in line to make a second league start of the season on Saturday.
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Caballero has been forced to play second fiddle to Hart at the Etihad due to the England star’s impressive and consistent form. He was at his scintillating best again in this game, pulling the Southampton defence out of shape and playing a number of brilliant through-balls that didn’t receive the finishes they deserved.
