West Ham handed boost with Manchester City set to be without three key players for Premier League clash
West Ham have been boosted by the news that Manchester City could be without three of their star players for Sunday’s Premier League fixture.
David Moyes’s side travel to the Etihad Stadium sitting fourth in the table, three points behind the current champions who are second.
Pep Guardiola will be without midfield creator Kevin De Bruyne, who is still self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 last week.
There are also injury doubts over Jack Grealish, who has been absent since the international break, and Phil Foden, who missed the midweek win over PSG in the Champions League.
“They are training individually,” Guardiola said about the two England internationals [via the club’s official website].
“They are much better, especially Phil. Right now they are on a day off and tomorrow we train in the morning and we will see how they feel.
“We will not take risks, but hopefully they will come back soon.”
Attacking talent
De Bruyne, Foden and Grealish have registered 10 goals and nine assists between them this season so Manchester City are certainly a lesser force without them.
Foden scored the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium last season, while Grealish also netted against the Hammers for Aston Villa 12 months ago.
But of course given the strength of Pep Guardiola’s squad, there are still several dangerous players who will feature in the absence of the trio.
Goals from Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling helped City beat PSG in midweek, while Sterling also scored against Everton last weekend along with Bernardo Silva.
In addition, Riyad Mahrez is a threat on the right wing and 19-year-old Cole Palmer is emerging from the academy, having scored in the Champions League this season.
However, it is worth remembering that Mahrez, Sterling and Palmer all started, while Jesus came off the bench, when City failed to score against West Ham in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.
In other West Ham news, Mark Lawrenson has predicted the outcome of the Hammers’ trip to the Etihad Stadium.
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