Manchester City travel to London on Saturday to take on a mid-table West Ham United side. The Hammers have steadied the ship after a really slow start, but don’t expect much from them on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s crew are rolling and will roll right over West Ham this weekend.
West Ham United Host Manchester City
The Hammers
It starts with the possession. West Ham will most likely cede 70% of it to City, with their best bet being to try and hit them on the counter. The counter-attack is always the great equalizer in football and West Ham will need to take advantage of it. One would think Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic will have a big say in whether they can.
West Ham have settled into a 4-1-4-1 formation that has brought the best out of their star players. It’s given Felipe Anderson the space he needs on the wing to create at his best level and having young England midfielder Declan Rice sit in front of the back four seems to have stabilized a shaky defence. They have only conceded more than one goal once in the Premier League since August.
Manchester City
But don’t expect that streak to continue on Saturday. Even with a Champions League game on Tuesday, City won’t hold anything back. Pep Guardiola expects his sides to always perform in the domestic league, even when he makes as many changes as he is expected to make Saturday.
There is no Benjamin Mendy for City; he underwent a minor surgery during the international break. Still no Kevin De Bruyne either, and Bernardo Silva is not expected to play but that shouldn’t slow City down. Even introducing players like Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan back from injury won’t slow them down.
They just have too much quality for this West Ham side to handle. If it’s not De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, its David Silva and Fernandinho. If Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling don’t beat you, then Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez will. Maybe Gabriel Jesus or City’s academy superstars Brahim Diaz and Phil Foden would snipe the Hammers.
Prediction
Manchester City will win this game against West Ham United. Even though the game is in London, City are too much right now.
Expected Line-Up: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Gundogan, Silva; Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus.
Predicted Score: West Ham 0-4 Manchester City
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