Opinions

Otamendi playing would help Haller – Sinclair

|

OPINION

Former West Ham and Manchester City winger Trevor Sinclair suggested that Sebastien Haller could get the better of Nicolas Otamendi on Saturday.

Sinclair raved about Haller and stated that due to his attributes then he could be the key to finding a weakness in Man City to expose when the Hammers clash with Pep Guardiola’s side on Saturday.

The retired winger particularly focused on how Haller could get the better of Otamendi due to the 31-year-old defender lacking pace.

“The boy Sebastien Haller, reminds me a bit of Freddie Kanoute,” said Sinclair on talkSPORT (8:06am, Friday, August 9th).

“His mobility is very good, he’s got great control, he’s a focal point and I think that this could be a weakness for Man City in the game on Saturday.

“Just because, you’re looking at Otamendi and his lack of pace, if you can get the ball into him nice and early, I think that can cause Man City problems.”

Manuel Pellegrini’s side are up against it on Saturday as no one is really expecting them to be able to overcome Man City.

After all Guardiola’s side lifted the Premier League title for the second season in the row in the 2018/19 campaign, by racking up 98 points.

Man City only lost four league games and only drew on two occasions, and it’s worth noting that they improved their squad from last season in the summer window.

However, it seems Sinclair believes Haller could help the Hammers cause an upset.

The 25-year-old scored 15 goals and registered nine assists in his 29 Bundesliga outings for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, with his pace and physicality helping him get the job done.

Haller registered 1.9 shots per game, had a tendency to lay the ball off to a teammate before running on to it, showing his pace, and was proved to be strong in the air by winning 6.9 aerial duels per game. (Source: WhoScored)

So he could easily prove to be more than a handful for Otamendi.

After all, Guardiola only deemed the ageing defender good enough to start 14 league games last season, as per The Sun, but given that the newspaper claimed he snubbed to move away to cover the loss of Vincent Kompany, there’s a good chance he could be utilised on Saturday.

So with that in mind, many West Ham fans should hope Otamendi starts against the Hammers as based on Sinclair’s remarks, Haller could make the most of facing him.

Share this article