Defender or playmaker? – WHZ View: West Ham must stop Joao Cancelo v Man City
West Ham United are facing the daunting task of facing Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers are sitting pretty in the Champions League spots this season, but a trip to the Etihad is a real opportunity to prove their credentials.
Pep Guardiola has once again transformed City into a different animal this season, and they are currently on a 19-game winning streak.
This success has come with a cost too, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero missing for a considerable time, although they are back for this one.
One player who has stepped up is Joao Cancelo.
Usually playing at right-back, Guardiola has transformed the defender into an inverted right-back which has him moving more in central midfield throughout games.
Looking at his heatmap, you can see where the Portuguese international finds himself.
Not many full-backs are frequently caught in the centre-circle, but it clearly benefitted City as Cancelo was at the heart of both of their goals against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Looking at his assist, it was a delightful ball to the back post and Bernardo Silva, showing that the Irons can’t sit off and let him dictate play in space.
Incredibly, Cancelo is City’s standout defender too with no one in the squad making more tackles or interceptions per game according to WhoScored.
On top of that, only De Bruyne makes more key passes than the Portuguese star who has really come to life this season after his move from Juventus.
Defender and playmaker, Cancelo has it all and he must be stopped.
It’s not just his creativity we need to worry about, as he can every so often arrive into the final third to cause problems; something he should have capitalised on against Arsenal last week.
This is somewhere we rarely see a right-back, but this new inverted wing-back turned midfielder role has become perfect for him.
It will be hard to imagine who will track this runner, with Moyes likely to play five-at-the-back at the Etihad on Saturday.
Step forward, Vladimir Coufal, Declan Rice and Aaron Cresswell, all three will need to be at their best to stop the rampaging Cancelo.
In other West Ham United news, predicted Irons starting XI for clash v Manchester City