West Ham v MAN CITY – The PREVIEW: City’s Probable Team
24 Oct
Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis are competing for a place alongside Vincent Kompany at the heart of the back four. The Frenchman has looked shaky in his last couple of appearances and Demichelis’s experience will always appeal to Manuel Pellegrini, but against a West Ham side that have started the season superbly and possess pace and power in attack, Mangala might just get the nod. Gael Clichy is likely to step in for Aleks Kolarov on the left of defence.
Pellegrini must be tempted to play with just one striker and include an extra body in midfield, so that means Edin Dzeko could miss out, perhaps with Yaya Touré pushed into a more advanced role. Fernando has been rusty since returning from injury and Fernandinho has failed to settle at all this season, but with Frank Lampard still sidelined with injury, the two Brazilians may get another opportunity together.
Here is the side Pellegrini could select:
Referee: Martin Atkinson.
Prediction: West Ham 1 – 2 MAN CITY – The home side have been in excellent recent form and they will feel confident on their own ground, but despite City’s Champions League exertions, this might just be the fixture to spark the Blues into life. I’m backing goals from Sergio Aguero, Stevan Jovetic and Enner Valencia.
I truly hope he starts with 1 striker and 5 in midfield. Let’s hope his stubbornness does not get the best of him. For what is worth, I would play Milner as CM instead of that slacker Yaya to send a message and Navas on the right. My patience has grown thin with Yaya’s lack of commitment/concentration.
On the other hand, Milner has been a revelation this season working his socks off for the team.
I agree with you there I can’t think of one reason to play the 42. A load message needs to be sent out to him. I haven’t been impressed by most of our midfield. There is a serious issue with work rate in there bar j.m. the two ferns have being poor recently.Silva has being OK no more. The defence needs to up their game especially l.b & center half. This looks like a very big game for us now’ we’ll see what their made of. Milner is a roll model to all players. The 42 is “playing” like Mario…..absolutely with zero interest. That guy drives me nuts. I won’t be forgetting his pathetic conduct over the summer. Apologizing to the club/fans would help, I wont be holding my breath.
Yaya is a great player and Milner in central mid has failed, like he did as a RB. Any team we put out should beat long ball Sam’s Ammers.
Yaya is a great player but he is well short of his best so far this season. Nevertheless it would be a big call to bench him at this stageespecially as he has often played hmself into form in the past.
Jimmy Milner has added more skill and the confidence to use it to beat his man, along with the judgement not to try it too often. He has always had a great engine and 100% commitment and now he is, deservedly, a generally accepted pick for the big games. He is not any where near as effective in the middle of the park as out wide either side.
The two Fernies need games, Fernie (2) to get back from injury and Dinho to get his mojo back; both are excellent players.
Stevan Jovetic is too talented to use only occasionally for a few minutes at the end of games; he deserves a chance to start a game and have 90 minutes to make an impression without feeling the need to be a headless chicken to make a point.
This could be a difficult game, Wham have little to lose and few expect them to win. I’d not be over ambitious, not start Kun, play Dzeko and Jovetic with the two Fernies in CMF, Fernie(2) sweeping and Dinho box to box, Jimmy on the RMF and Merlin LMF. Plenty of ‘engine’, enough creativity with Jove and Merlin, and a defensive unit that should be capable of a clean sheet.
If it needs to be shaken up there’s plenty of ability in Navas, Yaya, Kun etc to do that.
It won’t happen though, much more likely to be the side that VfaB anticipates.