Paul Merson predicts result of West Ham United clash v Manchester City
West Ham United will cause Manchester City “problems” on Saturday 31 August but the best they can hope for is a draw, according to Paul Merson.
The Sky Sports pundit believes that the Premier League champions will claim all three points against the Hammers in East London, predicting that Pep Guardiola’s side will win 2-0.
Although Merson expects City to come away from the London Stadium unscathed, he admits he wouldn’t be completely surprised if the Irons somehow managed to steal a point.
Writing for Sportskeeda on Friday (30 August) Merson said: “This is a difficult game for Manchester City.
“West Ham have enough talent while going forward and I think they will cause problems to the reigning champions. If City are forced to play without Rodri again, this can prove to be a tough test.
“Irrespective of whether Jeremy Doku or Savinho plays for City, Aaron Wan-Bissaka will have an exciting battle to deal with in the wide areas – definitely something to keep an eye on. Ilkay Gundogan is now back at City and it’s a great signing in my opinion.
“Gundogan and Rodri in the middle of the pitch feels like a cheat code. Even Erling Haaland was quite brilliant last week against Ipswich, but the only problem for City is if he gets injured.
“It’s true that they could rely on false-nine then. However, that system is not going to be successful for them over an extended run of games. I’m backing City to win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends in a draw.”
West Ham face Manchester City at the London Stadium
This feels like another big test for Julen Lopetegui in his first season as West Ham boss. The former Real Madrid manager has had a difficult run of fixtures at the start of his tenure and they don’t come much harder than this.
The Hammers have spent heavily to try and revamp the squad this summer and while it will take time for so many new faces to gel together, supporters are going to expect to see immediate improvements on the pitch.
A draw against the Champions would be a major statement of intent. It would show that this new-look team is ready to compete for the European places once again, rather than settle for a midtable finish.
It won’t be easy and every player will have to be at their best for the Hammers to even lay a glove on City, but they have the talent at their disposal to do that now.
Hopefully, Merson’s pessimistic prediction is wrong and Lopetegui’s Irons will pull off a special win. It would massively lift the mood around the London Stadium heading into the September international break.
In other West Ham news, some last-minute red tape emerged around Maxwel Cornet’s late move to Southampton on deadline day
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