West Ham United will play hosts to Manchester City at the London Stadium on Saturday hoping to kick off the new campaign with a win. The Hammers had to endure a difficult preseason in terms of results, but there were still some positives which they could take into this game. However, it won’t be easy to secure a result against the Citizens as they are in a good run of form following their recent triumph against Liverpool in the FA Community Shield last week.
Manuel Pellegrini is expected to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation this weekend. However, the Argentine manager will be without the services of Mark Noble after the veteran midfielder suffered a dead leg during the preseason.
4-2-3-1 West Ham United Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester City
Defence
Łukasz Fabiański will start in goal for the Hammers hoping to put in an impressive performance against the reigning champions of England. The defensive duo of Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop will line up ahead of the Polish keeper at the heart of the Hammers defence. They will need to be at their best if West Ham are to secure a positive result at the London Stadium this weekend.
Ryan Fredericks will assume the duties of a right-back as he tries to put in a good shift down the right flank. Aaron Cresswell will start in the left-back position trying to link up play with Manuel Lanzini and Jack Wilshere in the opposition half.
The East London outfit has shipped in five goals in their last two preseason matches which will concern Pellegrini. The Argentine boss would now expect a much-improved defensive display from his players this weekend.
Midfield
The dynamic duo of Jack Wilshere and Declan Rice will operate as the holding midfielders as they look to contain the Man City midfielders from dominating possession at the centre of the park. The attacking trio of Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Felipe Anderson will play just ahead of them as part of the Hammers attack.
All three of them are known for their creativity so we can expect them to orchestrate some decent chances for Sebastien Haller in the attacking third of the pitch.
Andriy Yarmolenko, Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio are all set to start on the West Ham bench and could come on during the match if required.
Attack
Sebastien Haller will spearhead Pellegrini’s attack up top. The new summer arrival will try to get his West Ham career off to a flying start by opening his goal-scoring account in the Premier League against Pep Guardiola’s men this weekend.
