If West Ham United thought they might take advantage of some Manchester City complacency tonight, think again.
City are fresh from lifting their first silverware of the season after victory in the Carabao Cup final over Chelsea on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola now switches his attention to ensuring City retain their Premier League title.
Meanwhile in East London the Hammers ended a run of five games without a win when they beat Fulham 3-1 last time out.
Pellegrini returns to old haunt
West Ham are aiming to finish seventh, which could reward them with a Europa League place.
But they will be up against it at the Etihad even if former City boss Manuel Pellegrini has been boosted by the return of key players from injury in the last week.
West Ham have taken some hammerings from City during their money years.
Pellegrini’s side were beaten 4-0 in the reverse fixture. But the scoreline flattered City as West Ham fluffed a host of golden chances at crucial stages of the game.
West Ham hoping for City complacency
Both City and title rivals Liverpool have faltered from their usual high standards in the last couple of months.
But if West Ham thought they might catch City after the Lord Mayor’s Show they are mistaken.
That’s if Pep Guardiola’s rather ominous pre-match demands are anything to go by (Independent).
Rather than bask in the glory of another trophy, the Spaniard has instead cracked the whip ahead of the visit of West Ham.
“We have to run tomorrow and beat them, and after that beat them again,” Guardiola said, as reported by the Independent.
“I want to see tomorrow the desire that we really, really want to win this title. I want to see it. I don’t care about the way we want to play or the other things.
‘I want to smell it’
“I want the ‘smell’ in the locker room. I want to ‘smell’ in the beginning of the game, during the game, with our fans, now when one competition is over, really we want to win this title.
“I want to see their faces tomorrow, my players. After the game I’ll tell you if I saw something special or not.”
Pellegrini looks set to make three changes to the side which beat Fulham last time out, read full story here.
West Ham’s squad looked in good spirits before the big game, see picture gallery here.
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