It was a mixed bag last week for David Moyes high-flying Hammers. First, they lost their first league match since the beginning of October when they fell to Wolverhampton 1-0.
Then they traveled to Austria and defeated Rapid Wien 2-0 in the Europa League to guarantee their qualification for the knockout phase of that competition as group winners. West Ham has already got one big scalp to their name this season, with three points secured against Liverpool.
The trip to the Etihad Stadium will be a whole different kettle of fish, however, with the Hammers having lost 13 of the last 15 times they have made the trip to the Etihad.
One thing the Hammers do have in their favor is they have already defeated City this season. Their penalty shootout in the Carabao Cup was the first time City had been defeated in that particular competition for four years.
West Ham has had a terrific run when it comes to having their full squad available so far this season. Let’s take a look and see if that is set to continue here.
Manchester City vs West Ham FYIs:
Kick-off time: 2 PM GMT, 28 November Sunday
Starting XI Predictions: West Ham Manchester City
Team News: West Ham Manchester City
Premier League Preview Pod: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Man City (LWWWW) West Ham (WDWLW)
The only player ruled out via injury for the Hammers is central defensive lynchpin Angelo Ogbonna.
The Italian suffered an ACL knee injury in the victory against Liverpool and will likely not feature again this season.
Usually, recovery from ACL surgery is around 12 months and given the odd state of the fixture list next year due to the FIFA World Cup taking place at the end of the year it could be 2023 before Ogbonna plays again.
Other than that, it is a clean bill of health for the rest of the Hammers squad. David Moyes rested a whole host of his preferred first XI midweek in Austria, and I expect the bulk of those to return for this matchup.
The Hammers have been great this year, but I feel the challenge of Manchester City away will be a bridge too far. I think West Ham will lose and blow the race for that fourth spot in the Premier League table wide open.