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No Capital One Cup repeat between West Ham and Man City

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Sergio Aguero Manchester City Jussi JaaskelainenWhat a start to the season West Ham have had. We’re flying high and happily perched up at the top of the league in fourth place. That’s f-o-u-r-t-h, yes actual fourth—in a Champions League place—and the best bit is that we’re not there through fluke or fortune. We’ve adapted our style of play tremendously from last season, and our position is very richly deserved.

Whilst there’s still a few games that got away, most of the games are ending in celebration now, and we’ve got wonderful goals to chew over whilst downing post-match pints. Diafra Sakho is on fire, and even Carlton Cole is regularly netting for the Hammers. It’s a brilliant time to be a Hammer, and we’ve certainly got great things coming to us this season, and great goals sure to come.

But having said that, is it okay if I’m in two minds about Saturday’s visit of Manchester City?

Don’t get me wrong; we’re doing really well right now and I couldn’t be prouder of this West Ham side. I just really don’t like playing City. As one of the four people who bought tickets for (and went to) the second leg of the Capital One Cup Semi-Final, I still get flashbacks thinking about that period in our club’s history. In our meetings with them last season (in all competitions) they scored 14 goals and then they won the league. This year, in the aforementioned cup, they’ve already demolished Sheffield Wednesday 7-0 and a shudder of sympathy went through me when I heard the score.

However, I’m also conscious that things are different this season. Whilst Man City are, admittedly, not-too-shabby this year, we’re not so bad ourselves. Man City are only two places in the league above us and a mere four points separate us and them.

West Ham have gained strength over the summer, and several deserved wins have left us heading into this fixture in fourth place. New signings Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, and Cheikhou Kouyate have brought the side to life in recent weeks, and we’ve also seen an incredible improvement in performance from Stewart Downing. Kouyate has been out through injury, but he may return in time for Saturday to boost the options available to Sam Allardyce, which is great news for the fans.

And while Manchester City have won nearly all of the Premier League games this year that they should have won, Stoke City still managed to walk out of the Etihad with all three points after winning 1-0, whilst West Ham managed to send last year’s Premier League runners-up Liverpool home from Upton Park on the tail end of a 3-1 defeat – showing that there’s always potential to take points on the day.

If West Ham are to continue their winning ways, they will need to ensure their defending is on top form this weekend – particularly when it comes to marking Sergio Aguero, who netted four against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, giving him a tally of eleven Premier League goals this season. Gulp. Manchester City will also be arriving with a point to prove after a disappointing draw has all but stopped them from progressing in the Champions League, so West Ham will do well to be wary—but equally, a strong team performance from us could lead to a good result.

Perhaps it’s optimism but maybe, just maybe, it’s realistic to expect to see a brilliant game of football on Saturday from both teams. If West Ham continue to play well, and adapt appropriately to contain City, then we can certainly give them a run for their (mass amounts of) money.

Are you looking forward to City’s visit? How would you like to see West Ham line up on the day, and dare we ask for your score predictions? Let us know below!

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3 comments

  • beckton Geoff says:

    I’m very much looking forward to this game and I predict a 2 – 1 to the hammers

    • Johnny Mac says:

      The first job is to keep em out Geoff, if we can keep em out, then yeah I’d go with your score too, and yes, I’d be looking to be in 4th spot with just 8 games left, as playing only 8 games is nothing to go by yet Emily

      • Johnny Mac says:

        And I’d have been more concerned if Man City were coming here after a Champions League win and if that had happened Emily, then their tails would have really been up. I was really relieved when I saw their drawn result which would have been very disappointing and along with the tiredness that accompanies a long trip to Moscow and back, then they’ll be quite deflated after just 1 point & taking just 2 points from their 3 games & looking another exit without group stage qualification is very highly on the cards. No, they’ll be feeling very sorry for themselves and we should get in their and sting them really hard while they are hurting. Hit em hard and in quick time, like we did against Liverpool, COYI

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