Opposition view; West Ham vs. Manchester City

West Ham have a tough task ahead of them coming off of the international break as Manchester City come to the London Stadium. With international games for country and European competitions for club, City could be a little overextended when visiting West Ham.

That’s all speculation, but no one knows about a team better than their supporters. Across the FanSided network, we have connected with the site contributor and expert at ManCitySquare.com to get his view on the upcoming match.

With a few players representing their country and another few injured or recovering from injuries there is some uncertainty about team selection for City:

"“Predicting Man City’s line up these days is a pretty hard task and bookies should really give odds on that. We are approaching a very busy period of important games – with the game against West Ham coming just a couple of days before our game away at Lyon. We have players returning from injury like Gundogan and players coming back late from International Duty. I reckon Pep will set up 4-3-3 and we will take the game to you. Delph and Walker full backs, with Laporte and Stones. Fernandinho in the centre with David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan on either side. A front 3 of Sterling, Sane and Aguero would be my guess.”"

Regardless of injured or tired players, Pep Guardiola has done a terrific job spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a team that is not only skilled but also deep.

As far as concern for City, West Ham’s quick and brutal attack is worthy of note, as well as a possible squad returnee who has a long history with City players:

"“You have 2 options that will concern Pep – the pace of Felipe Anderson and the battering ram of Arnautovic. There is some history of our players with Wilshire – he has committed a lot of niggly fouls against us, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on the receiving end of some return treatment. The game will be won or lost in the turnovers – if you can hit us on the break and take the game to us that may occupy our team and give you your best shot. If you sit back I think we will dominate.”"

With David Moyes taking over West Ham last December the Hammers tentatively clogged up the midfield and backline, springing forward on the counter-attack eventually scoring. The match would end up 2-1 for City but the game showed some grit and fortitude by the Irons and acted as a mini turning point to avoid relegation.

As for predictions, the cynic in me would suggest that it’s a difficult result to determine – how many are City going to win by? But, with the new centre-back pairing of Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena rested, and with Declan Rice in support West Ham may be more difficult to bully around the pitch. Here’s the Cityzen view:

"“My score prediction is that we will win – but you will score at least once – maybe twice. I reckon we will run out 4:2 winners but the result won’t be certain until late in the game. I am hoping for a good game decided by skill on the pitch and not settled by a poor decision.”"

It’s clear that despite their wide point gap on West Ham and defined elite status, Manchester City is not looking past West Ham. It’s a lesson the Irons need to adopt themselves; always be prepared and ready for your opposition. If recent history suggests anything (Southampton match) City have incredible firepower and will not let off the gas pedal if they get ahead.