Mark Lawrenson predicts West Ham v Man City clash
West Ham United are struggling amidst a nervy relegation battle this season, but things aren’t about to get easy anytime soon.
They were supposed to play Manchester City last weekend, but the menace that was Storm Ciara saw that one called off.
The contest was eventually rescheduled for next Wednesday, with David Moyes’s side facing the daunting task of heading to the Etihad Stadium amid a relegation fight.
Pep Guardiola’s team haven’t been at their best this campaign, as we all know, but they are still a formidable proposition.
BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson certainly doesn’t see the Hammers forcing an upset, predicting that the hosts will prevail 3-0.
“Having this game delayed by 10 days might help Manchester City a bit – Aymeric Laporte will have a few more training sessions under his belt and could be fit enough to come into contention,” he wrote on the BBC Sport website.
“West Ham will also have benefited from some time training together, especially at the back.
“The one thing Hammers boss David Moyes will have been working on is defensively, because they were woeful at the back last time out in their draw with Brighton.
“Even so, I don’t think West Ham will have enough about them to take even a point away from City. I went with 3-0 last time, and I am going to stick with that scoreline this time too.”
Do West Ham have any chance at the Etihad?
It’s hard to see Moyes’ team getting anything from this one, in all honesty. When you concede three against Brighton, it’s hard to see you doing well against City.
Even though the title race is effectively over, Guardiola’s team need to push on and get a run of form going before they face Real Madrid in the Champions League.
They will be gunning for the Hammers, and they won’t see much in the Irons’ attack to worry them either.
So they can afford to attack with reckless abandon, and Lawrenson’s 3-0 prediction might end up looking rather conservative.
In other West Ham news, Ray Parlour has used a West Ham regular as a comparison for a Juventus star.