Can Hart handle the FA Cup pressure?

He may be England’s number one, and he may be on the verge of helping his club side to the Champions League next season, but Manchester City keeper Joe Hart has a lot to prove.

Given he has achieved so much in his short career it seems odd to suggest that Hart is set to be anything other than a top keeper, but he still has a lot to prove. After all, anyone who has followed Manchester City will know that Hart hasn’t been entirely consistent this season. In fact, he went through a fairly significant drop in form earlier in the season and at one point looked like he might actually be dropped.

Hart responded well to the dip in form and the criticism that followed it, upping his game and ensuring that his side were able to put a firm stamp on the top four – although some pundits would no doubt argue they should have put in a major title challenge. The FA Cup final betting though suggests they will pick up a trophy.

However, this weekend the young goalkeeper will face a test that the Premier League cannot fully prepare him for – the FA Cup final. Although Hart has already shown he is able to cope with a great deal of pressure, his performance in the semi-final against Manchester United demonstrated that.

The final itself though brings a whole new level of pressure and often this tells most when it comes to the man between the sticks. If Hart wilts amid the Wembley tension and allows Stoke to snatch a crucial goal it could be that his career, which now looks like it is only going in one direction, suddenly starts to backslide.

As it is, all eyes will be on the young England keeper to see if he really can cope with the pressure that the highest level of football brings.