Manchester City vs West Ham Preview

Premier League GW20

Off the back of winning against Leicester City, the team has had a good week to rest and recover for the weekend, and they have been ready to try to win back-to-back games for the first time since October. Fortunate for them, they take on a West Ham side that hasn’t progressed under their new manager and have lost their talisman to injury.

Previous Results:

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last two Premier League matches after winning their first away match since October 20th (Wolves). They sit 6th in the League with 31 points.

• West Ham have won two Premier League matches in their last five, beating Southampton (A) and Wolves (H), drawing against Bournemouth (A) and Brighton (H), and losing to Liverpool (H). They sit 13th in the table on 23 points, above Manchester United at 14th.

Notable Injuries:

• Manchester City are without Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, and John Stones through injury. Ederson and Matheus Nunes are currently being assessed.

• Due to injuries, West Ham is without Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen, and Lukasz Fabianski.

Interesting West Ham Stats:

• Jarrod Bowen, who will miss the match through injury, is West Ham’s leading goal scorer (5), has provided the most assists (4), and played the most minutes in the team this season. Bowen also leads the team for passes into the penalty area (29), key passes (37), xA (4.3), shot-creating actions (76), goal-creating actions (9), carries into the penalty area (36), progressive carries (67), and tackles won in the final third (11).

• Only Leicester City (-20), Ipswich Town (-15), and Southampton (-27) have a worse goal difference than West Ham (-12). All three of those teams are in the relegation zone.

• The second biggest overperformer of PSxG in the Premier League is Lukasz Fabianski (+3.8) and the biggest underperformer of PSxG is Alphonse Areola (-4.4). Both play for West Ham.

If you want to stay up-to-date on individual player minutes, back four combinations, underlying numbers, and more, check out the live Google sheet below. 👇

West Ham

If you want to hear more from the opposition, then check out this podcast I did with Jack Elderton from Analytics United, over on the Ninety Three Twenty player. We delved into plenty of City related topics like the Paqueta transfer, and the academy players that move to Manchester City. We also discussed the match this weekend, how Jarrod Bowen is single-handedly winning them games, and why the team has regressed tactically this season.

Here is how West Ham lined up in their most recent match against Liverpool, losing 0-5, and it could have been closer to ten. Without Soucek and Rodriguez due to suspension. The type of match we are used to seeing from City in previous years, getting the early goal and the floodgates open. Liverpool were excellent and West Ham rolled over.

In the match before that West Ham won against Southampton (0-1) here is how they lined up, Jarrod Bowen scored the winner.

There is no ignoring the fact Jarrod Bowen is out injured, in the six Premier League matches West Ham has won this season he’s either scored and/or assisted in each of them. Provided the game-winning goal in three. Been the MOTM in three of them. West Ham will need another player to step up, Kudus to turn that bright spark against Manchester City in transition into goals. Wan-Bissaka to keep Savinho (likely) quiet.

Soucek will be a boost returning to midfield, providing some balance to what has been either too aggressive or a stale group in the middle of the park without him.

One to Watch - Max Kilman

Well, it would have been Jarrod Bowen if he wasn’t injured…

Although Max Kilman may have been more expensive than West Ham would have liked, this season he’s been one of their most consistent performers behind Bowen. An improvement on Nayef Aguerd who despite his qualities on the ball just wasn’t able to match it with his defensive work, is now out on loan at Real Sociedad.

When you look back to the Leicester match, with them able to pick the right moments to build up through the City press, shift it around the middle third, and find some players in the half-spaces, you cannot get to that point unless your back line can progress the ball under pressure. West Ham has not been particularly great at dealing with any sort of high press, and if Manchester City picks their moments well their going to have opportunities. That’s going to be the key battle to prevent any early goals for Manchester City and Max Kilam will be at the heart of that effort.

Manchester City

The starting lineup as well as if he’s the first substitute to come on would be quite telling of the situation James McAtee is in after his performance off the bench against Leicester City. With all the talk about him possibly leaving in January. He deserves a start, at the very least another 30 minutes off the bench, and I hope he gets it.

I think it was refreshing for Bernardo Silva to come out and say we are not in a title race, the focus is on winning the next game before getting to that point. So are these words, being honest about the experience and the expectations they need to return to.

As well as Guardiola taking on responsibility for the run of form, rather than anything to do with the players. He should have handled it better, and against Leicester, I thought we saw signs of that shift with the press picking its moments better. They sat deeper in a midblock, with its issues, but it was something different that was needed.

One to Watch - Savinho

After getting his first goal, Savinho needs to follow that performance up, assuming he starts then Wan-Bissaka will be a good test. Someone who has given Jeremy Doku a tough time. Playing Savinho on the left side, the game is more about attacking space in transition, getting in behind, and gaining separation for a cross. All of which will not play into the strengths of AWB defending 1v1 dribbles into the box like Doku prefers to do.

Final Predictions

Predicted Lineup:

Predicted Score: Manchester City 3-0 West Ham