Manchester City will be keen on maintaining their excellent winning momentum as they lock horns with West Ham on Sunday. The Citizens are coming into this game on the back of a four game winning run and will have an opportunity to mount pressure on league leaders Chelsea by securing another three points this weekend. They are currently trailing the Blues by three points, so any mishap from the European champs could see Man City bridging the gap at the top.
Predicted Manchester City Lineup Vs West Ham
Defence
Benjamin Mendy is the only defensive absentee for Manchester City heading into this game. Hence, Pep Guardiola will have the privilege of starting a full-strength team in his quest to secure a win against West Ham this weekend.
It appears unlikely that the Catalan would want to tinker with his back-four either, as he looks to persist with the central defensive combination of John Stones and Ruben Dias.
In the wider defensive role, Kyle Walker’s pace can always be useful in dealing with the West Ham attackers on the counter while Joao Cancelo’s ability to operate as an inverted fullback becomes very important in the build-up play.
Ederson Moraes remains a guaranteed starter in between the sticks. The Brazilian is aiming for a clean sheet in the Premier League this weekend.
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Midfield
In the midfield, Man City will continue to deal with the absence of Kevin de Bruyne. Guardiola interestedly deployed Oleksandr Zinchenko in his role this midweek, but he is likely to revert that change by bringing back Bernardo Silva in midfield.
The Portuguese international is expected to occupy the advanced midfield role alongside Ilkay Gundogan, just ahead of the defensive midfielder Rodri. It will be interesting to see how these three deal with West Ham’s dynamic and hard-working midfield unit consisting of stars like Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek.
Attack
Phil Foden and Jack Grealish remain doubts for Manchester City heading into this game. Grealish, in particular, is likely to miss out, whereas we are expecting Phil Foden to make the starting eleven.
The Englishman may operate on the left-hand side, with Gabriel Jesus operating on the opposite flank. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva shifting into a midfield role could see Raheem Sterling spearhead the line for the Citizens in the absence of Ferran Torres, who remains a long-term absentee.
