West Ham will host Manchester City in the 4th round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, as David Moyes’ side aim to progress to the 5th round for the first time since 2017.
The Hammers will face four-time consecutive EFL Cup winners Man City as they look to continue their excellent run of form this season.
Moyes’ and his squad have won six of their past seven games in all competitions and come from an excellent week of results. Three wins out of three against Everton, Genk and Spurs put the Hammers in a great position for this fixture.
West Ham beat Manchester United 1-0 last time out in the EFL Cup, courtesy of a Manuel Lanzini strike, and will be keen to go toe-to-toe with a very strong Manchester City outfit.
Pep Gaurdiola’s side are also playing remarkably well this season, losing only one game from their last 12 in all competitions. As well as that, they have scored 11 goals in their past three games and have conceded only 12 goals all season.
David Moyes knows he has a tough test on his hands for this fixture, but will motivate his team to go for the win here and progress forward into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
West Ham Team News
West Ham have no fresh injury concerns for this fixture, but question marks still hang over whether or not Vladimir Coufal will be fit to play after suffering from a groin problem over the past few weeks.
Although the right-back is back in training, he missed Sunday’s win against Spurs. This could mean Ben Johnson will keep his place in the starting lineup after impressing over the past three outings.
Several bench players could make their way into the first XI as well, with the likes of Issa Diop, Mark Noble and Nikola Vlasic potentially coming into the side.
Alex Kral still remains out after testing positive for coronavirus last week.
Man City, on the other hand, are carrying a couple of injuries into this fixture. Raheem Sterling missed out on their weekend match with a lower back issue and although he may be fit to play, Guardiola may choose to rest him for this encounter.
Ferran Torres and Liam Delap are both long-term absentees, with a metatarsal injury and an ankle problem respectively.
City could field several youth players for this match, with the likes of Cole Palmer and Conrad Egan-Riley likely to feature.
Several bench players may also make the starting XI, with John Stones, Nathan Ake and Oleksander Zinchenko all hoping to receive some more game time against the Hammers.
Score Prediction
West Ham United 1 – 2 Manchester City
The Hammers will have a tough test on their hands for this fixture, given how good Manchester City are performing right now. However, West Ham are in fine form themselves and will be motivated to get something from this game.
We’re predicting that David Moyes’ side will rival the current holders on Wednesday and produce a good display against them. But their opposition’s forces could prove too much in the end and a 2-1 loss would be justifiable.
