West Ham United dished out a clinical performance against a lowly Fulham side in their last match in the Premier League. However, they are up for a stern challenge in their next outing when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City are on a roll and have bagged their first major trophy of the season in the form of the Carabao Cup by beating Chelsea. However, it has taken quite a toll on them, and they will be without some key players in the next match including the likes of Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte. The Hammers would hope to take advantage of this in the next encounter.
Team News
Except for the long term absentees like Andriy Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez, Winston Reid and Jack Wilshere; there is no significant injury scare for the West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini to deal with at the moment. However, defender Fabian Balbuena is recovering from an injury as well and would be assessed ahead of the mega match against the Citizens.
Goalkeeper
Lukasz Fabianski had a good game in the last outing. However, it would be interesting to see how he deals with the might of the Manchester City attack as he starts between the sticks in the next outing.
Defence
In the absence of Balbuena, the onus would be on Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop to stabilise their defence against Pep Guardiola’s side. Former Manchester City ace and veteran right-back Pablo Zabaleta would look forward to a reunion with his former teammates when he starts in the next match. Aaron Cresswell would be the one to put in a shift from the left-hand side of the backline in the crucial clash.
Midfield
Irish prodigy turned England’s “best holding midfielder” (as per Pellegrini), Declan Rice would need to step up to his duties once again as he starts in the heart of the pitch alongside veteran ace Mark Noble. Felipe Anderson would be expected to put in another essential shift from the left-hand side while Robert Snodgrass starts in the right-hand side of the midfield.
It was a sight to cherish for the West Ham fans as they welcomed back midfield ace Manuel Lanzini on to the pitch in the last match against Fulham. He would start in the attacking midfielder role against Manchester City with former Citizen Samir Nasri on the bench.
Attack
Marko Arnautovic, who was brought on as a substitute in the match against the Cottagers, would lead the line for the Hammers against the reigning champions.
Predicted Formation: 4-4-1-1
