Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart was dropped to the bench for his side's Premier League home game with Norwich City on Saturday following a series of high-profile blunders.

The England goalkeeper, 26, has made a succession of errors in recent months, culminating in a rash charge from his line that gifted Fernando Torres a last-minute winner in Chelsea's 2-1 victory over City last weekend.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been reluctant to address Hart's form directly with the media, but he made his feelings apparent by retaining second-choice goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon in his starting XI.

The Romanian had deputised for Hart in Wednesday's 2-0 League Cup victory away to Arsenal, but would ordinarily have been expected to cede his place to Hart for Saturday's fixture.