West Ham vs Manchester City: Match Preview

West Ham have a difficult test on Saturday as they welcome Manchester City to the London Stadium for the early kick-off.

The form West Ham have shown since the match against Newcastle has taken many Hammers fans by surprise. Wins against Wolves and Leicester and the draw against Spurs has seen the club climb into the top half of the table.

Manchester City, on the other hand, have had an indifferent start to the season for their standards. The Citizens are eleventh in the Premier League winning two of their first four games of the season.

TEAM NEWS:

West Ham have a completely clean bill of health ahead of the match against City. Sebastien Haller has recovered from the small knock he took before the Spurs match. The French striker will likely take up his spot on the bench.

Ryan Fredericks and Issa Diop are both available for selection again. Fredericks has not played since his injury against Wolves. The right-back had been playing some of his best football in a claret and blue shirt before his injury and will return to challenge Vladimir Coufal for the starting spot.

Diop, however, has not played since the match against Arsenal and has been self-isolating after he tested positive for COVID-19. The Frenchman was on the bench against Spurs but could make his return in place of Fabian Balbuena.

The biggest news for the Hammers is the availability of Said Benrahma. The Algerian winger was signed on an initial loan deal, but the club does have an obligation to buy him at the end of the season. Benrahma is likely to start on the bench, but could still make his first appearance.

Check out Benrahma’s training this week!

Manchester City, however, have a small injury crisis occurring. Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte have only just returned to training, and the West Ham match might be a bit too soon for them to start.

Players that definitely will be missing for the Citizens are Benjamin Mendy, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho and Nathan Ake. The last two picked up knocks against FC Porto in the City’s 3-1 win in the Champions League.

PREDICTED LINE-UPS

WEST HAM UNITED: Formation (5-4-1)

Fabianksi, Coufal, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Fornals & Antonio.

MANCHESTER CITY: Formation (4-3-3)

Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Garcia, Walker, Rodri, Silva, Foden, Sterling, Torres & Aguero.

MATCH PREDICTION

Manchester City has always proved to be a tough game for West Ham. The Citizens have always seemed to have the edge on the Hammers, which has led to some humiliating defeats in recent seasons.

But this could be the best time to play against the will have less recovery time compared to the Hammers due to their mid-week game. The defence of the side is not what it used to be, and the Hammers attack is on fire at the moment scoring ten goals in the last three Premier League games.

Furthermore, if star midfielder De Bruyne is out of the match, then their attack could also be substantially weaker. All that being said, Pep Guardiola‘s side still contains plenty of quality. Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero both have good records against the Hammers. But if David Moyes can find a way of somewhat containing them, then there could be something in the match for the Hammers.

SCORE PREDICTION: West Ham United 2 – 2 Manchester City

West Ham won’t shut City out but could grab a couple of goals on the counter-attack.

West Ham vs Manchester City: Match Preview | Predicted XIs