City have dropped to fourth in the Premier League table after last weekend’s defeat at home to Chelsea, leaving them in need of a positive result at the King Power Stadium to keep the pressure on the leaders going into the Christmas period.
Having won the title in May and completing one of the great sporting achievements of all time, Leicester find themselves 16th in the table this time around and facing up to the prospect of a relegation battle.
Caballero puts their struggles down to the challenge of balancing domestic and European football but says the fact they secured qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare means they will be in good condition for this weekend’s match.
“It’s a huge game,” Caballero says. “We know they are the champions. What they feel this season this is new. They have to play more than one game a week and they feel uncomfortable in Premier League.
“Unfortunately for us, they had already qualified in the Champions League [before their final game at Porto on Wednesday] so could think of the Premier League.
“But we have to do our work. It doesn’t matter how they are, we have to do our job.”
Caballero started Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Celtic in the Champions League as Pep Guardiola continued his policy of rotating players in order to keep his squad fresh.
It’s an approach Caballero feels will have a significant over the course of the season as City look to juggle the demands of multiple competitions.
“I think it’s important [to rotate],” he says. “Everybody wants to play. Everyone works really hard during the week to try and play.
“In this league, just a few teams can repeat the same starting XI because sometimes they play one game a week. If we do this, maybe we get in trouble, with injuries and tiredness, so I think it’s a good option.
“The game against Celtic was important for the players who don’t usually play to keep improving, to keep showing the boss he can think of using every player in the starting XI.
“It was a good way to play the last game, already qualified, against an important team with history and tradition.”
We will have full coverage and highlights from Leicester v Manchester City on mancity.com!
