Another week of hack fuelled intrigue surrounding Manchester City draws to a close with a trip to Laandaarn Taarn…
Vital Quotes:
Roberto Mancini:
‘I am very happy at Manchester City. At this moment we are not as strong as last year but we are working towards this. I see a lot of teams who are weak defensively right now. Andy Carroll is a strong player and can create a lot of problems for any team. We can expect a strong team performance from from West Ham.’
Sam Allardyce:
‘I’m surprised by City’s start but there have been a few changes and a few players Mancini has lost through injury and that disrupts what was his renowned back four for last season. He has tried a different style, a different system, he has lost de Jong who used to give them that protection. It is a bit more encouraging. I watched Swansea last week and they were very impressive against City but still at the end of the day they didn’t get anything out of the game. When you are driving down the motorway or leaving Upton Park tomorrow it is no good saying ‘what a good performance’ if you have lost, so you have to get a result if you have given a good performance and that is what we are looking for.’
West Ham United Team News:
OUT:
Guy Demel
Matt Taylor
Ricardo Vaz Te
Jack Collison
Player to watch: Andy Carroll
Uncompromising and dangerous to a City side who have been dealing with crosses like a vampire training camp of headless chickens almost all season. Carroll won 14 aerial duels against Wigan last Saturday but failed to record a shot on target. All the more reason not to give him a sniff at Upton Park.
Manchester City Team News:
OUT:
Jack Rodwell
David Silva
Maicon
Micah Richards
Player to watch: Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero
Kun is seeing a lot of the ball of late and proving difficult to knock off it. Due a run of goals and I suggest he could play a key role for City on the road this winter. The Hammers defence can expect a torrid afternoon if the Aguero-Carlos Tévez ground attack starts the game.
Match Facts & Stats
THE FACTS:
City are unbeaten in all league matches in which Tévez has scored (Won 30, Drawn 3).
West Ham have played the most long balls in the Premier League this season numbering 308. Reading are next up with 255.
City have lost 1 of their last 12 league and cup games against The Hammers and none of the last 4 encounters.
Only City with 7 and The Rags with 6 have scored more goals from set-pieces than West Ham’s 5 so far this season.
The Blues are unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League matches and scored in each of those games.
Balotelli’s 21 shots is the most of any player yet to score in the Premier League this season.
Head To Head
League: 40 City Wins, 13 Draws, 33 West Ham Wins
FA Cup: 1 City Win, 1 Draw, 2 West Ham Wins
League Cup: 1 City Win, 1 Draw
Total: 42 City Wins, 15 Draws, 35 West Ham Wins
This Could Be The Last Time:
Su 01May 2011 Man City 2 – 1 West Ham
Sa 11Dec 2010 West Ham 1 – 3 Man City
Su 09May 2010 West Ham 1 – 1 Man City
Mo 28Sep 2009 Man City 3 – 1 West Ham
TV Coverage: ESPN UK/Ireland BBC Match Of The Day
LiveOnSat.com
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE GAME LIVE IN THE VMC FORUM
CLASSIC CITY: West Ham v Manchester City Dec 6th 1969
Ref Watch:
Howard Webb of South Yorkshire and Stretford 2011-2012 Record Across All Competitions: 51 Games, 167 Yellows, 5 Reds – Last Season:
Sa 24Sep 2011 Man City 2 – 0 Everton PL, Sa 03Dec 2011 Man City 5 – 1 Norwich PL,
Su 22Jan 2012 Man City 3 – 2 Tottenham PL,
Sa 24Mar 2012 Stoke 1 – 1 Man City PL, Su 06May 2012 Newcastle 0 – 2 Man City PL – 2012-2013 Record So Far Across All Competitions: 7 Games, 27 Yellows, 1 Red – This Season:
Su 19Aug 2012 Man City 3 – 2 Southampton
Match Prediction:
Johnny On The Spot: The Blues have had a week’s competitive break for the first time in a while going into this one and I expect this factor to tell. A couple of injuries righted and an opportunity to work on the defensive frailties that have blighted the start to the campaign. The aim should be to get the job done early doors ahead of the Ajax return mission in town midweek. Upton Park is one of English football’s great theatres and the Hammers will give it a good go but I expect the Champions to prevail. West Ham 0 City 2
Next Fixtures:
all times East Manchester
Tu 06 Nov 19h45 Ajax, The Etihad, CL
Su 11 Nov 13h30 Spurs, The Etihad, PL
Sa 17 Nov 15h00 Aston Villa, The Etihad, PL
We 21 Nov 19h45 Real Madrid, The Etihad, CL
Su 25 Nov 16h00 Chelsea, Stamford Bridge, PL
We 28 Nov 20h00 Wigan, DW Stadium, PL