Manchester City will take on West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday hoping to consolidate their position at the top of the Premier League standings. The Citizens were enjoying a rich vein of form before the international break and would look to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run in the Premier League with a win this weekend.
Guardiola is expected to opt for a 4-3-3 formation and might be forced to bring in Oleksandr Zinchenko in place of Benjamin Mendy, who is currently spending time on the treatment table.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face West Ham United
Defence
Ederson is a guaranteed starter in goal for the Citizens while Arijanet Muric has to settle for a spot on Guardiola’s bench. The Brazilian shot-stopper has been a stable presence at the back and would be expected to earn another clean sheet on the road against the Hammers this weekend.
The dynamic duo of Aymeric Laporte and John Stones would line up in central defence as Guardiola clearly fancies them over his other defensive options due to their exceptional ball-playing abilities. Benjamin Mendy will miss out on this encounter due to an injury, so Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to take his place at left-back as he looks to impress by making some runs behind the West Ham defence. Kyle Walker will look to do the same down the right flank.
Man City will have a great chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a win at East London on Saturday, so their defenders need to be at their A game if they want to cope with the goal-threat of Marko Arnautovic.
Midfield
The trio of Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva and David Silva have worked well together at the centre of the park. They will continue to create and support the City frontline while Fernandinho also does the dirty defensive work by breaking down some of the Hammers’ attacks.
Kevin De Bruyne will not be a part of the City team this weekend after his recent injury but Ilkay Gundogan would be available on the bench and might come on to make an impact in the second half.
Attack
Pep Guardiola’s front three would consist of Sergio Aguero leading the City charge while Raheem Sterling should look to use his quickness and agility down the left-hand side of the Citizens frontline. Riyad Mahrez might operate on the right wing as he would cut in and use his stronger left foot to either create or score goals in the attacking third.
Leroy Sane had a fantastic international break when he scored two goals in two matches for Germany. Hence, it should not be a surprise if the German prospect comes on during the latter stages of the game and makes the difference in this contest.
