BeIN SPORTS pundits Richard Keys and Andy Gray have submitted their predictions for West Ham United’s clash with Manchester City on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly both men opted for an away victory at the London Stadium, although the duo’s chosen margin of victory was not as vast as some people may have expected.
“[City] Beat them five there last year,” Gray said on beIN SPORTS. “Yeah, I think this will be tighter this time round though,” Keys replied, before plumping for a 3-1 City win.
.@richardajkeys just edged the win on Matchday 12 but Andy Gray leads the race. Here's #KeysandGray's #PL predictions for this week 👇#beINPL pic.twitter.com/uQQGqqloOp
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 23, 2018
“Manchester City… I say, I’ll go 2-0 Man City. Oh yeah City win, aye. I’m not going to say West Ham United am I?,” said Gray as he delivered his prediction.
OPINION
Both these scorelines sound about right for this game. West Ham have made significant strides already this season under Manuel Pellegrini, but it won’t be enough to see them come away with anything against Pep Guardiola’s sublime side. City simply operate on a different stratosphere to teams like the Hammers and that will likely be reflected in the final scoreline. Pellegrini’s team have the players to keep it close for a while and they could even trouble the champions with the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Felipe Anderson and Grady Diangana, but ultimately City will surely be too much for them on Saturday. 2-0 probably sounds like the right final score, because with Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena at the back it’s hard to see West Ham being blown away by City, but the champions will likely eventually prevail in East London. Pellegrini will have his players up for this one, so you never know, but it’s a monumental task for West Ham and make no mistake.
