Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling has nothing to prove in Sunday's League Cup final against Liverpool, according to Manuel Pellegrini.
Since his £44million move from Liverpool to City in the off-season, Sterling has faced his former club once – and that resulted in a 4-1 loss in November.
"For every player it is never comfortable to play against an old team. Everyone has links, friends inside the club," the Chilean said.
"But he is a professional player. He came here to win titles. I'm sure he will have a very good performance.
"I don't think he has anything to prove. For him that motivation is very good. I hope he will be focused just on having a good performance and not thinking about the boos he receives during the game or what happened in the past.
"He is now a Manchester City player and he will try to win for us."
Pellegrini said Sterling would be measured by City's success as a team, and is hopeful the winger continues to get better.
"He continues to improve and give a lot of things to our squad. He has a lot of speed, good technique, goals – that’s why we bought him," he said.
"I’m sure he can be a very successful player but it will depend on the way he improves."
