Kevin De Bruyne faces late fitness test ahead of Manchester City v West Ham United Premier League clash
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne faces a late fitness ahead of Wednesday night’s Premier League clash with West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium, according to the Independent.
The influential Belgium playmaker missed the champions’ victory at Fulham on Sunday with an unspecified knock and was considered a doubt ahead of their quest to leapfrog Arsenal again in the Premier League table.
City boss Pep Guardiola admitted in his press conference De Bruyne has “started to move” but hadn’t trained in the days leading up to the game.
However, there’s still a chance he could yet make Wednesday night’s showdown, with the Independent [3 May] reporting that the Belgian playmaker faces a late fitness test to determine whether he could feature against West Ham United.
Hope
Despite Manchester City’s win over Fulham at the weekend, Guardiola and his men certainly came away from that game feeling incredibly fortunate to come away with the three points without their most influential player.
City are still a force without the Belgian but their chances of claiming wins against tough Premier League opponents certainly increase considerably when he is in the team and David Moyes and his West Ham United men will be hopeful he’s not fit to play on Wednesday night.
However, Guardiola’s men are finding tip-top form at such a pivotal point in their season which means it will be a daunting test for Moyes and his team as they are yet to confirm their status in the Premier League for next season.
Realistically, this is a free hit for the Hammers. A chance at some sort of redemption after their disappointing loss to Crystal Palace last weekend and there’s a considerable possibility they could suffer consecutive defeats, and with City’s neighbours Manchester United to come on Sunday, West Ham United will need to gain some confidence from somewhere.