Predicted Starting Line-Up: Manchester City vs West Ham (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City are back in action with a Premier League clash against West Ham on Saturday, as they look to win back-to-back games for the first time since October.

Pep Guardiola’s side finally have some positive momentum after a win against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium last weekend, and they will look to bring the good vibes to the Etihad Stadium against the Hammers on Saturday afternoon.

Goals from Savinho and Erling Haaland saw the Premier League champions over the line against the Foxes, and they will be hoping for more production from their young attackers once again this weekend.

Injuries have been a key factor in shaping the Sky Blues’ sticky patch this winter, winning just two of their last 14 matches across all competitions, and dropping to sixth and 22nd in the Premier League and Champions League respectively.

Heading into the showdown with Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham side, Pep Guardiola is expecting to be without all of Ruben Dias, John Stones, Ederson, Matheus Nunes, Oscar Bobb, and Rodri, despite the Brazilian goalkeeper and Portuguese midfielder returning to training.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how we believe the Etihad Stadium outfit might set up against the Londoners on Saturday afternoon in search of their first three points of the calendar year!

Predicted XI

With Ederson still on the sidelines despite making progress in his recovery from “niggles” in his leg over the last few weeks, Stefan Ortega Moreno will surely remain in between the sticks.

Meanwhile, after keeping their first clean sheet since early December, there may not be any changes to Manchester City’s back-four, and as such that means Rico Lewis will remain out at right-back.

Despite their perceived lack of fitness in recent weeks, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake will be Pep Guardiola’s go-to centre-back pairing until his defensive core regains fitness, with Ruben Dias and John Stones remaining sidelined.

That, of course, means Josko Gvardiol will occupy the left-back role as he has throughout most of the last 18 months, hoping to add to his goalscoring feats that saw him stand within the top-five scorers for the club across 2024.

The return of Mateo Kovacic has brought some life back into the midfield at Manchester City this season, and the Croatian international will surely get another start as a reward, taking on the defensive ranks in the centre of the park.

Against Leicester last time out, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva showed glimpses of their former selves, and both players should get the nod alongside Mateo Kovacic once more against West Ham.

Phil Foden was replaced on the hour-mark by James McAtee after a largely poor performance at the King Power Stadium, but the former is still a potential key to igniting the attack for Pep Guardiola, and should be thrust back into the starting line-up.

After getting back on the scoresheet and generally being more involved in the match last time out, Erling Haaland should be brimming with confidence heading into the weekend. Look for another big 90 minutes form the Norwegian.

Finally, Savinho broke his duck in a Manchester City shirt with a goal and an assist against Leicester, and as a result it would be unwise to leave the Brazilian out as he picks up steam ahead of the second-half of the campaign.

Predicted XI: Oretga Moreno; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Savinho.

Substitutes: Carson, Walker, Simpson-Pusey, O’Reilly, Gundogan, McAtee, Grealish, Doku, Mubama.