West Ham United’s season thus far has been a sheer disappointment but there is still plenty of football to be played and the Hammers will hope that the New Year will bring smiles to the faces of the fans. They started 2017 with a 2-0 loss against Manchester United in the Premier League. A controversial red card to Sofiane Feghouli made the headlines in that game. Slaven Bilic’s side now have a tricky game to start their FA Cup campaign with as they take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the London stadium on Friday.
Manchester City’s first season under Pep Guardiola has not been as the fans would have wished for. They are struggling for consistency badly this season but the passion the players showed after Fernandinho’s sending off in the last game is exactly what they need.
We expect Pep to rotate his squad in the FA Cup on Friday but Bilic will be looking to play his best possible lineup. Here is the predicted West Ham lineup against Manchester City.
Defence
Darren Randolph was the cup keeper for West Ham until Adrian started faltering under the bar. The Irish international is now the first-choice keeper at the Olympic Stadium. We expect Adrian to get his chance under the bar in this fixture.
Havard Nordtveit should keep his place at right-back. Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna should retain their respective places at the heart of the West Ham defence. Aaron Cresswell is an undisputed starter at left-back.
Midfield
Pedro Obiang will keep his place at the base of West Ham midfield. The Spaniard has done a pretty decent job as a midfield enforcer since he was installed there by Bilic and he must come up with a good game against City to help his side win the game. Skipper Mark Noble is likely to make his way back to the starting XI in the three-man midfield. Edmilson Fernandes should complete the midfield trio.
Attack
Sofiane Feghouli’s red-card suspension has been overturned, but Manuel Lanzini should start on the right flank. The Argentine has upped his game of late but there is still room for improvement and Bilic will hope that he finds his best form soon.
Michail Antonio, West Ham’s best player this season, will start up front and will be hoping that he can cause damage to the Sky Blues. Dimitri Payet will keep his place on the left flank.