WEST HAM UNITED VS MANCHESTER CITY: PREVIEW
- Bobby Vincent
- Nov 23, 2018
- 2 min read
West Ham United host champions Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, as they look to cause perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend.
City have been in sparkling form recently, scoring 15 goals in their last three games in all competitions.
Manuel Pellegrini will lock horns with his former team, with the Chilean manager being in charge of City between 2013 and 2016.
TEAM NEWS -
West Ham captain Mark Noble is set to return to the side following the suspension he received.
Robert Snodgrass will sit out after accumulating five yellow cards already this season.
Hammers full-back Ryan Fredericks is out until the new year with a shin injury he sustained.
Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy has had knee surgery and will be out of action for up to 12 weeks as a result.
Bernardo Silva will also miss the game for the champions, as he sat out of Portugal's game with Poland earlier in the week, with a minor injury.
Nicolas Otamendi is in contention to play for City after recovering from an injury to his Achilles.
THE MANAGERS -
West Ham boss Pellegrini has insisted that it will be a "special" game for him, but his focus will remain on the match itself.
"I think (Manchester) City are improving every year," Pellegrini said."I left a couple of years ago and Pep (Guardiola) has continued to do the work, buying new players and trying to improve the team.
"It will be a special game but in this profession, as a manager, you must work in different places.
"The most important thing is that I have had good relations with every club I have left and I had three good years there."
City manager Pep Guardiola was very complimentary of his opposite number, Pellegrini, ahead of their first Premier League meeting.
"His career speaks for itself in terms of the quality," Guardiola admitted. "He puts his team on another level.
"The way they played and created a style was impressive... Here he won the league and helped this club be where we are right now.
"He will do well at West Ham where there are many good supporters."
MATCH STATS -
- West Ham have lost every meeting with City at the London Stadium, conceding 13 and only scoring the one goal in the process.
- The Hammers could make it back-to-back wins at the London Stadium for only the second time (December 2016, the other).
- City are unbeaten in their last 34 Premier League games that have kicked off at 3pm (GMT) - which is a record in the competition.
- David Silva has been directly involved in 11 Premier League goals against Saturday's opponents, scoring four and assisting four.
- Felipe Anderson could become just the eighth Brazilian to score in three consecutive Premier League games.
BETTING ODDS -
West Ham United: 12/1
Draw: 11/2
Manchester City: 1/4
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