WHZ View: Coufal v Sterling – key battle as West Ham face Man City
West Ham face a big challenge this Saturday when they travel to the Eithad Stadium to face Manchester City.
The Hammers will be looking to make it five unbeaten in the league and build on their tally of 45 points. City have won 12 in a row in the league, and haven’t been defeated since November 21, away to Spurs.
When the two sides met in October, they shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium. An early Michail Antonio strike was cancelled out by Phil Foden’s equaliser early into the second half.
Right-back Vladimir Coufal was making just his third appearance for the Hammers. He’d starred in our 3-0 win away to Leicester, but struggled in his second match at Spurs.
The Czech had a fantastic game against England superstar Raheem Sterling, and has really kicked on since then. With the two set to go toe-to-toe again, West Ham Zone takes a closer look at the battle ahead of Saturday.
Head to head
Coufal had an excellent game in the reverse fixture. He assisted expertly for Antonio to acrobatically give the Hammers the lead after 18 minutes.
The right-back was all over Sterling from the off, who was largely ineffective by his own high standards. According to WyScout, the winger was successful in 0 of his attempted dribbles in the 90 minutes. Coufal was able to win 46% of his defensive duels, making eight interceptions and six recoveries in that time.
Sterling was able to win just 22% of his duels, and lost possession for City 11 times, making just one recovery. It was a rare off day for him. This season he’s attempted the 7th most dribbles in the league with 154, or 6.99 per 90 minutes.
Since they met, Coufal has gone from strength to strength in the top-flight. He’s pocketed the likes of Heung-Min Son, Jack Grealish, Wilfried Zaha and James Rodriguez. The defender now averages 8.84 possession recoveries per 90 and has won 53.3% of his overall defensive duels.
We don’t doubt the challenge ahead, however. City are breezing the league at the moment, despite not yet playing Aguero and spending periods without Kevin De Bruyne.
Sterling’s now on 13 goals and seven assists in all competitions for 2020/21. Of those, five goals and two assists have come in his last seven matches. He’s a man in form.
With the confidence in this West Ham squad at the moment, nothing is impossible. However, we will need to dig deep if we’re to take anything from the Etihad. Coufal, in particular, will have to be on top of his game.
In other West Ham news, today marks 28 years since the late Bobby Moore passed away, an icon of the sport.