Ahead of their trip to West Ham United on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s Premier League title hopefuls Manchester City will be without at least seven first-team players.
And, yes, yes, put your mini violins away.
No one will be feeling much sympathy for the man who has it all. Manchester City might not be the same formidable force of old, when they were dominating the English scene and conquering the continent, but Guardiola still boasts the kind of depth the likes of Nuno Espirito Santo can only dream of.
Yet, while West Ham United will be without their first-choice full-backs this weekend – Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are on AFCON duty – City have also been hit by international commitments.
Just how on earth can West Ham BEAT Man City? 😱
And which Hammers stars can make the difference on Saturday?
The absences of Rayat Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush, plus a handful of injuries, means the quality of Guardiola’s back-ups and fringe players may be tested over a gruelling festive period.
Pep Guardiola confirms Manchester City will be without Rodri and co against West Ham United
The West Ham-linked Mateo Kovacic remains out for the foreseeable future.
Caught Offside reported in November that the Hammers were keeping tabs on the contract situation of the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan playmaker. Kovacic has only played 37 minutes of football all season, though, with an ankle injury limiting his involvement.
Jeremy Doku picked up a quad injury last week. Oscar Bobb, who may have replaced the quicksilver Belgian at the Etihad, was then forced off during the 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Brentford.
Neither John Stones nor Ballon D’Or winner Rodri are ready to return either. This, plus the AFCON-enforced absences of Ait-Nouri and Marmoush, takes the number of absentees to a hefty seven.
“We have a game tomorrow. And after, we have five days before Nottingham [Forest] and Sunderland,” Guardiola said during his press conference on Friday.
“Between Nottingham and Sunderland, maybe a few of them will start to be back. But for tomorrow, no.”
Nuno Espirito Santo previews ‘very tough’ Man City test
Even without Doku, Bobb and Marmoush, Guardiola could still select a fearsome front four of Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Savinho and, of course, the Targaryen Terminator that is Erling Haaland.
Nuno will not make any specific Haaland-themed plans, though.
Can you work out the three MISSING PLAYERS from our 2-1 win over Man City in 2015? 🕵️♂️
A clue: Two of the these mystery men scored the goals for Slaven Bilic's side…
“[Manchester City] are very, very good, very talented, and have a very good manager,” Nuno says of a side West Ham have not beaten since 2015. “It is going to be very tough. It’s up to us to try and compete well against a good team.
“They are playing really well.
“We prepare the same way we prepare for every match; trying to provide the details that are important without isolating any single Manchester City player. It’s not about [singling out Haaland]. It’s about how we can compete against all of them.
“First, City. Let’s focus on the task we have to do against City. Then, we see the schedule. Day by day, game by game – that is how we approach it. That is our reality. Every day is important.”
Nuno is expected to select Kyle Walker-Peters either on the right or the left. Ollie Scarles is in contention to make his first appearance since October.
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