Manuel Pellegrini is set to stand by stand-in goalkeeper Willy Caballero – even though he has warned City can’t afford to make any mistakes at

Wembley.

The Blues boss has used the Argentine as his cup keeper all season and intends to send him out to face Liverpool in the Capital One Cup final.

That has drawn criticism from fans following a shaky display in the 5-1 FA Cup defeat against Chelsea last weekend.

Joe Hart is his undisputed No.1 but as City chase the first silverware of the season, Pellegrini has said he won’t follow the lead of previous Blues boss Roberto Mancini.

He went back on his plan to use Costel Pantilimon in the 2013 FA Cup final, reinstating Hart, but the Chilean pointed to the fact that City lost that game to Wigan and said: “I know about the change made in the last game but I don’t think they won the cup so it’s not a reason to do it.

“But every manager can think which is the best way to win a title.

“I manage a team in my way of thinking, that is the best way to do it and I don’t change it.”

City won the 2014 Capital One Cup with Pantilimon in goal and Pellegrini added: “I don’t change the way I think. We won this cup with

Pantilimon playing the whole cup so it has no reason to change.”

Pellegrini believes Caballero can cope – and says he is not standing by him out of obligation to the player.

“I know the mentality of all the players so it doesn’t matter,” he said.

“It’s not an obligation to my word, it’s an obligation to think that we are doing it one way in that tournament. It’s important to try to finish until the end in the same way.”

Pellegrini brushed off questions from reporters at his pre-final press conference when asked if his determination to play Caballero was a risk.

“You think as a manager how best to manage the squad and not just the team,” he said.

“We are going to play in our final. We must be focused on our final.”

Pellegrini is sure to face flak if the kind of errors the Argentine made for Willian and Eden Hazard’s goals at Stamford Bridge are repeated at Wembley and cost them the cup.

But the Blues boss knows that the game – and the trophy – could be won or lost on the finest of margins.

“We are always prepared to play against any team in the Premier League or in Europe because we know a lot of things about all of them,” he said.

“After that it’s the performance of your players and the team on the day you play that game.

“Two or three balls decide the result so it’s very important not to make mistakes and be accurate and have good finishing when you have the options. There are so many things that decide the result, that is why I say every match is different.”