If Man City are able to secure three points against West Ham in Wednesday night’s Premier League game, they will leapfrog Arsenal again at the top of the table.
Their mission appears to have been made that much easier with Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd all ruled out apparently by illness.
Rice, Aguerd and Soucek all had sickness bug. They travelled up but were too unwell to play and this is why there is space on the bench https://t.co/IeM8tQ0T9D
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) May 3, 2023
Erling Haaland will certainly fancy his chances of breaking a 30-year-old Premier League record, given that if he scores one more goal, he will set a new mark for most goals scored in a season, beating the 34 goal record he currently shares with Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.
Ederson has been dropped to the bench by Pep Guardiola, meaning that Stefan Ortega Moreno gets a rare start in goal.
Kyle Walker is handed the captain’s armband and he makes up the back four with John Stones, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake.
Kevin De Bruyne is still out, but a midfield trio of Rodrigo, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez gives Pep pace, skill and stability in that area of the pitch, with Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez playing off of Haaland up front.
It’s a fearsome XI to play against at any time of the season, let alone when you are shorn of three of your best players.
With David Moyes needing to ensure his side earn another three points quickly to drag them away from the relegation zone, the late withdrawals have done him no favours whatsoever.
A heavy defeat as a result could really knock the Hammers confidence for the last few games of the campaign too.
? ???? ???? ??
XI | Ortega Moreno, Walker (C), Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/s1OPmihxCe
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 3, 2023