Manchester City vs West Ham United
Date: 09/02/2020
K/O: 16:30
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Referee: Graham Scott
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Premier League sides from either end of the spectrum clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening, with home and away managers Pep Guardiola and David Moyes having almost nothing and almost everything to fight for respectively.
After shelling out close to €100 in the summer, things have gone astray for West Ham, who currently find themselves in the relegation spots, albeit just a solitary point from safety. With the growing concern for survival, amidst a winless run of five league matches, reinforcements were brought in by owners David Sullivan and David Gold in January, most notably in the form of Jarrod Bowen from Hull City.
Up next, they face a wounded Manchester City side, who were beaten 2-0 by Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur side in a fiery match in the capital. Whilst earlier, City fans and neutrals alike had been quite confident of City firing back after defeats, this season has seen a more morose aura engulf the Etihad.
Finishing has been the problem for City, hitting the woodwork 19 times (1st in the league, with 19 being the sum of 2nd and 3rd placed teams), and missing 55 big chances (1st in the league). For West Ham, its been the actual creation of chances that’s been missing. They sit 14th in the table of big chances created (55), and also 14th for big chances missed (25).
If West Ham get their tactics correct, they may not need to create many big chances in their match against the Citizens and could play exclusively on the counter, which would set up an interesting game. However, they would still need to be extremely wary, with their record of dropping points (19) from winning positions the worst in the league. However, they need to find a solution, and find it fast; games against City and Liverpool form the start of a daunting run for West Ham that includes trips to Arsenal and Tottenham, as well as home contests with Wolves and Chelsea.
Team News
Manchester City
Raheem Sterling’s legs finally reached breaking point, following months of continuous exertion on the pitch, in Leroy Sane’s absence. Regrettably, the versatile attacker has been ruled out “for weeks” after scans revealed damage to his left hamstring. It will likely rule him out of the first leg of the Champions League tie against the mighty Real Madrid too.
Aymeric Laporte started the victory away to Sheffield United but was the victim of a few cynical challenges in the game, which saw him substituted out late on, and he hasn’t featured for Guardiola’s men since. City fans have been hoping that it is nothing serious, but with a fortnight of rest following the West Ham game, the feeling is he will have hopefully recovered to face Leicester City, should he not be ready for the West Ham game this weekend.
Long term absentee Leroy Sane has begun training, but it would be nothing short of fooling if he was to start against the Hammers. He will need a couple of weeks to get back to being match fit and match sharp. Oleksandr Zinchenko will be unavailable for selection, after receiving his marching orders against Tottenham last Sunday.
West Ham United
Captain Mark Noble commented on West Ham’s record of dropping points from winning positions in his weekly column, calling it “unacceptable”. A response will hopefully be prompted.
The morale around the dressing room, too, feels comparable to that at the Etihad. David Moyes begrudgingly admitted that losing Declan Rice in the summer was a real possibility, owing to poor results on the pitch. On the injury front, Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere have all been ruled out, with the first two hoping to be back by the last week of February, while the latter’s return date is presently unknown.
Predicted Starting XIs
Manchester City (3-5-2): Ederson; Fernandinho, Eric Garcia, Otamendi; Walker, Rodri, De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva; Aguero, Jesus
West Ham United (4-1-4-1): Fabianksi; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Declan Rice; Snodgrass, Noble, Soucek, Bowen; Haller
Score Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 West Ham United
I expect the match to start off rather slowly, but for City to eventually find a way past Fabianski and into the back of the net. With Yarmolenko and Anderson both ruled out injured, I believe West Ham will suffer from the dearth of ball carriers and will have to rely heavily on Haller’s hold up play and runners from deep, which I think Bowen and Snodgrass will be unavailable to provide with the same degree of threat as would the injured pair have.
