West Ham United confirmed XI v Manchester City: Declan Rice nowhere to be seen, Flynn Downes starts
David Moyes has named his West Ham United XI to take on Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, 3 May.
Moyes has confirmed that West Ham United will be without key defender Kurt Zouma for their Premier League clash with Manchester City, and has decided to make four changes with Declan Rice nowhere to be seen in the matchday squad.
Flynn Downes comes into replace Rice, with Moyes going to a 3-man defensive system. Kehrer and Ogbonna come alongside Aaron Cresswell in defence to replace Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd who is axed altogether along with Tomas Soucek who is also dropped from the matchday squad.
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.
City were without key man Kevin De Bruyne at the weekend and is out of Wednesday’s game but are still a force without the Belgian.
Though, their chances of claiming wins against tough Premier League opponents certainly increase considerably when he is in the team and Moyes and his West Ham United men will be hopeful the Citizens are worse for wear on their own turf.
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. But, without Rice, it is a huge and major blow.
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.
Whether that will come at the Etihad, will take some kind of miracle.