Lopetegui warns West Ham of Man City´s threat despite recent struggles - Soccer News

[ad_1] Julen Lopetegui is underneath no illusions over the standard of Manchester Metropolis, regardless of their latest kind, as West Ham put together to go to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Metropolis ended their Premier League struggles with a 2-0 victory over Leicester Metropolis final day out, although the four-in-a-row champions nonetheless sit sixth and 14 factors adrift of leaders Liverpool.

The Leicester win marked solely a second victory of their final 14 video games throughout all competitions – however Lopetegui is aware of of the standard Metropolis’s facet pose, no matter their struggles.

“Manchester Metropolis are top-of-the-line groups on the planet,” the West Ham boss stated on Thursday. “You may speak about latest weeks, however I do know the standard of the workforce that we’re going to face.

“They're an excellent workforce, with excellent gamers and a high coach, who've performed with the identical concepts for a very long time. We're going to have a really demanding match.

“However, we have now to place the concentrate on the strengths we have now, and imagine that we're capable of overcome these calls for.

“We attempt to enhance issues, whether or not we win, draw or lose video games, and we're working onerous to be able to play Manchester Metropolis at their dwelling on Saturday.”

Lanzini’s beautiful late strike on the Etihad Stadium in 2021 pic.twitter.com/8o5FYoDif7

— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 2, 2025

West Ham had been hammered by Liverpool in Sunday’s 5-0 defeat, leaving them thirteenth within the desk heading into 2025 – and that loss was compounded by an harm to Jarrod Bowen.

“Let’s see, but it surely’s not going to be a couple of days for positive,” Lopetegui stated of his captain and star ahead. “It’s not excellent news for us, but it surely’s the second for different gamers.

“We're positive that Jarrod goes to make the time that he has to get well [as short as possible], due to his character, but it surely’s true that he’s going to be out of the subsequent matches.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester Metropolis – Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland has scored seven objectives in simply 5 Premier League video games towards West Ham, so the Norway talisman will fancy his possibilities of including to his account right here.

Nonetheless, solely a kind of objectives has come on the Etihad – the place Guardiola’s facet haven't gained since December 4 towards Nottingham Forest.

Working in direction of the weekend pic.twitter.com/qgy3pFqfQD

— Manchester Metropolis (@ManCity) January 2, 2025

West Ham – Mohammed Kudus

Bowen’s absence might even see Mohammed Kudus shifted to the right-hand facet of Lopetegui’s assault, a spot by which he might pose some counter-attacking risk.

Kudus was one in all few to impress final day out towards Liverpool, creating two possibilities and managing two pictures – a kind of towards the woodwork of Alisson’s aim.

MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN

The Opta supercomputer’s pre-match predictions struggled to see previous something aside from a house win, and that will not come as a shock contemplating this pair’s head-to-head report.

Certainly, Man Metropolis have gained 14 of their final 15 Premier League dwelling video games towards West Ham (L1), together with the final eight in a row since a 2-1 loss in September 2015.

These final eight victories on the Etihad have all come underneath Guardiola, with solely former Arsenal supervisor Arsene Wenger boasting a greater 100% dwelling win fee towards an opponent within the competitors (11/11 vs Leicester Metropolis, 10/10 vs Stoke Metropolis).

It might be one other bleak outing for the guests, who're winless of their final 18 Premier League video games towards Man Metropolis total – towards no facet have the Hammers had an extended such run of their league historical past (additionally 18 vs Liverpool between 1983 and 1994).

West Ham have additionally conceded at the very least as soon as in every of their final 24 Premier League video games towards Saturday’s hosts. Solely towards Sunderland have that they had an extended run with no clear sheet of their league historical past (25 between 1923 and 1968).