Manchester City enter a mid-week Premier League clash against West Ham United at a very pivotal time in their club history. UEFA brought the hammer down on them this past Friday, and the club have made clear their intentions to appeal the ruling.
Reports have also surfaced that City have a dossier on the inner financial workings of rival clubs, and if that’s the case, this story is only beginning to scratch the surface. In the meantime, they have a rescheduled fixture, washed out and blown away by Storm Ciara, to play against the relegation fodder Hammers. Let’s take a look at what kind of line-up Pep Guardiola might select in this match, one that will be played under the shadow of the off the pitch events.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: Ederson; Walker, Fernandinho, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva; Bernardo, Mahrez; Aguero
West Ham United at Manchester City FYIs
February 19, 7:30 pm, City of Manchester Stadium
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: West Ham United
TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK) NBCSN (USA)
Referee: Graham Scott
Odds: West Ham United win 18/1 Draw 9/1 Manchester City win 1/9
Form Guide: West Ham United DLLDL Manchester City LWDWW
Prediction: Manchester City 3, West Ham United 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link