Manchester City Match Preview
Julen Lopetegui won his first home game as West Ham United’s new Head-Coach in midweek when he led his team into the Carabao Cup fourth-round with a late win over fellow top-flight side AFC Bournemouth. Now, he faces his first game against one of the Premier League’s’ “big” clubs, as Josep Guardiola brings his Manchester City side to Stratford for today’s late kick-off.
It seems that the Hammers are never too far away from an encounter with the Citizens, as they last met on the final day of the 2023/24 campaign when the home team finally claimed the title, thanks to a 3-1 victory at The Etihad Stadium.
They know it will be a tough test but West Ham will want to build on their two victories this week and keep the momentum going, as they head into the international break.
The opening home league game against Aston Villa didn’t go too well for the East Londoners and the home fans will be eager to see what Lopetegui can do here, given his previous experience on the continent.
A goal from James Ward-Prowse put David Moyes’ side in front in this fixture last season, only for Guardiola’s men to produce a second-half comeback to win 3-1.
The visitors currently occupy top spot in the early Premier League table, having won both of their opening two matches so the Irons will be looking to inflict a first defeat on the four-time champions.
One downside for Lopetegui is that this evening’s opponents have had a full week to prepare for this fixture so you would be expecting them to be the fresher of the two sides even though the Hammers are still full of confidence.
Seven changes were made for the tie against Andoni Iraola’s Cherries and it will be interesting to see how many more are made for this encounter. Aaron Cresswell sustained a hamstring injury ahead of Wednesday’s match and he will undergo a late fitness test to see if he can be involved here. Łukasz Fabiański replaced Alphonse Areola four days ago but the Frenchman is likely to regain his place here. Edson Álvarez was also in the starting line-up on Wednesday and he could earn his first top-flight start of the campaign.
The club completed a late loan deal on Friday night, as Carlos Soler became the final addition to the squad However, the Spaniard wasn’t registered in time to be able to make his debut today. Three players that won’t be in contention for today’s match are Nayef Aguerd, who has been loaned out to Real Sociedad for the season, while both Ward-Prowse and Maxwel Cornet have joined fellow Premier League outfits Nottingham Forest and Southampton respectively. Cornet will link up again with former teammate Flynn Downes at St Mary’s.
For the second consecutive fixture, live coverage of this match will be screened by Sky Sports from 5pm with kick-off at 5:30pm. the referee is Michael Oliver.