West Ham United are gearing up for arguably their biggest test of the season yet. They face an in-form Manchester City on Saturday at the London Stadium and will look to their manager, Manuel Pellegrini, to find and exploit any possible chink in the armour of his former club.
West Ham are currently in the 13th position with 12 points from 12 games. But after the amount spent in the summer along with the ambition shown with Pellegrini’s appointment, the club is certainly looking at a much higher finish this season.
But the pre-match stats don’t make for good reading for the Hammers. Manchester City relish this trip, with the visitors having won on all 3 of their visits to the London Stadium scoring 13 goals in the process.
PRE-MATCH TRIVIA
- West Ham United have conceded over 2.5 goals/game on an average in their last 8 home matches against their upcoming opponents.
- West Ham have lost their last 6 matches against the Sky Blues.
- Manchester City have won 9 out of their last 11 away games.
TEAM NEWS
Robert Snodgrass picked up his fifth booking of the season and will miss the clash. But Mark Noble is back from suspension.
In what is fantastic news for this game and surely for the upcoming festive period, Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere are back in full training and are in contention for a place in the starting XI. They trained for the whole week after returning to the fray midway through the international break.
PREDICTED WEST HAM UNITED XI VS MANCHESTER CITY (4-5-1)
DEFENCE
Fabianski will start in goal. The Polish international has been one of their better players and will come into the match expecting an extremely busy 90 minutes.
Pablo Zabaleta and Aaron Cresswell will serve as the two fullbacks. They will not be allowed much freedom to bomb up the flank and will have to be super alert and agile to keep the likes of Sterling and Sane in check.
In the central defence, Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop will be the players tasked with holding the fort and stick to a compact shape at the back.
MIDFIELD
Pellegrini is likely to employ a midfield 5 with the players taking the field knowing most of the match will be played in their own half and thus concentration and discipline will be key on the day.
Felipe Anderson and Diangana will take up their places on the flanks. Anderson has impressed in recent weeks and will be one of Pellegrini’s key weapons in the offensive sector.
The central midfield should consist of Pedro Obiang, Mark Noble and the impressive Declan Rice.
Jack Wilshere is unlikely to be risked from the start.
ATTACK
Marko Arnautovic will know he is likely to spend long periods of isolation in the City half on his own but will have to be at his clinical best when a chance comes his way.
