West Ham need to make Sutton eat his words as prediction made v Manchester City
West Ham United and Manchester City have both had pretty poor campaigns in the Premier League this season.
Both top-flight sides are massively underperforming and have been miles off where they were expected to be at the start of the season.
Of course, both have suffered injuries and have had their own problems to deal with but it still feels like more could come from both clubs.
Jarrod Bowen has just been ruled out for the Hammers, which has put them even more on the back foot and, with that in mind, Chris Sutton believes the Cityzens will have too much quality for Julen Lopetegui’s men to handle.
“Jarrod Bowen’s injury is a huge blow for West Ham because he has been their best player this season. I thought the Hammers’ displays were picking up, but then they got absolutely demolished by Liverpool,” he wrote in his weekly predictions for BBC Sport (3 January).
“So, this feels like a good time for Manchester City to play them as they look to build on their win at Leicester.
“That was not a particularly pretty performance but that part does not matter for Pep Guardiola’s side at the moment.
“It is all about taking small steps for City as they try to find some form again, so it was important for them to see Erling Haaland back on the scoresheet against the Foxes, and to keep their first clean sheet in five games.
“This game might be a similar story in that City will have to scrap a bit, but again I expect them to get the job done.”
The BBC pundit then added that he thinks City will beat the Hammers 2-0 on Saturday.
How can West Ham make Chris Sutton eat his words?
While Bowen might not be part of the picture at the London Stadium for some time thanks to his fractured foot, Lopetegui could have one or two tricks up his sleeve to try and fill the void.
One of those being Crysencio Summerville. The Dutchman was brought to London in the summer transfer window but hasn’t been afforded an extended run in his first team.
That’s because the Spaniard has opted to go for both Mohammed Kudus and Bowen over the former Leeds United man but with Bowen now out, he’s the most logical replacement.
The attacker was in impressive form last season as he contributed to 31 goals across all competitions for the West Yorkshire outfit.
If the 23-year-old can even find half of that form in Bowen’s absence, he could well become Lopetegui’s saviour and perhaps be the cause of a couple of upsets, including the game against City.
Pep Guardiola’s men obviously have the better team but with the injuries to their squad at the moment, it feels like there’s a chance that the Hammers could leave the Etihad with all three points to their name.
With City having been through a real poor run before beating Leicester last time out, it is certainly not beyond the realms that the Hammers can rebound from their resounding 5-0 loss to Liverpool when they visit the Etihad Stadium.
They need to make Sutton eat his words.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers have made contact with a Premier League club regarding the transfer of a striker in January.
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