OPINION
West Ham United face a colossally difficult task on Wednesday as they attempt to put a stop to the Manchester City freight train.
However, the Premier League champions were taken all the way to penalties on Sunday in their Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea, and their first triumph of the season came at a cost.
City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed after the game, as per Football London, that both Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte face several weeks out after picking up injuries at Wembley. That means that they will undoubtedly miss the clash with Manuel Pellegrini’s side on Wednesday.
Now, the Hammers’ chances of victory at the Etihad Stadium are still extremely slim, but Guardiola’s admission has given them a massive boost.
Laporte has separated himself as City’s finest central defender this season, and is now perhaps second only to Liverpool powerhouse Virgil van Dijk in terms of Premier League centre halves.
Fernandinho, meanwhile, is arguably the champions’ most irreplaceable player. There is no City player who can do what he does from an offensive and defensive standpoint. He is the glue that keeps the Manchester giants in place.
City have the likes of Vincent Kompany and John Stones to replace Laporte, while Fabian Delph, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan are available to come in for Fernandinho. It’s not quite the same in either case, though.
So while West Ham will undoubtedly find it extremely hard work on Wednesday, they were given a handy little boost on Sunday, that’s for sure – and their chances have surely soared as a result.
