MANCHESTER -- Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has challenged Nicolas Otamendi to ensure that the injured Vincent Kompany is not missed against West Ham on Saturday.
Kompany will sit out City's next two matches with the calf injury he sustained in their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Juventus on Tuesday.
And that could mean £31.5 million summer signing Otamendi, who is the second most expensive centre-back in Premier League history, makes his full debut against the Hammers.
City are the only club in England who are yet to concede a league goal and Pellegrini rued the loss of continuity with Kompany being ruled out for Saturday.
"It is always [unfortunate] to have injured players, especially the captain and especially in a moment when we didn't concede any goals in the first five games," he said in a news conference.
"But I think it is important to carry on playing with the same names. I always say we have a squad. It is important for Nicolas Otamendi to have his opportunity to demonstrate why he is here. We have a squad and we need to replace the captain."
Otamendi is set to be paired with his former Porto teammate Eliaquim Mangala in the centre of the City defence and Pellegrini feels Kompany's injury record made it vital that another centre-back was signed.
"Otamendi had a really good season with Valencia last season," he added. "He knows Mangala from before. Kompany has a lot of injuries so I think always we have to get two players for each position."
Argentina international Otamendi had previously been away on international duty, which has delayed his integration into the City setup.
And Pellegrini said: "He is working with our team the last three weeks, but maybe not so many times as we would like because he went with the national squad. He is an experienced player. He must have this moment now Vincent is out of the squad. I hope he will have a good performance."