Mark Lawrenson thinks Manchester City should keep Wilfried Bony rather than loan him to West Ham.
Mark Lawrenson
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Manchester City will beat West Ham United 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.
City head into the game having made a strong start under new manager Pep Guardiola, with Premier League wins over Sunderland and Stoke City, as well as comfortable Champions League victories against Steaua Bucharest.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Guardiola’s men looked particularly strong against Stoke last week, and today will host a troubled West Ham side at the Etihad Stadium.
The Hammers lost their opening game against Chelsea, and were unconvincing in their 1-0 over Bournemouth last week, before crashing out of the Europa League on Thursday evening with a 1-0 home defeat to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu.
Injury and fitness problems have ravaged the West Ham squad, and manager Slaven Bilic will be looking for something to boost his side – and he certainly has previous success away at Manchester City.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
Against the odds last season, West Ham went away to City and claimed a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho, with Bilic no doubt hoping for a repeat this afternoon.
Ahead of the clash, pundit Mark Lawrenson has offered his prediction on the game, telling BBC Sport that he thinks the game will end in a 2-0 victory for Manchester City, who have impressed the ex-Liverpool defender so far.
Lawrenson added that he thinks West Ham were ‘pretty ordinary’ against Bournemouth, hence his prediction for them to lose, whilst adding that rumours of Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony signing for the Hammers would leave Guardiola short of centre forward options.
Manchester City’s Wilfried Bony looks dejected
“It is a case of so far, so good for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, who are safely into the group stage of the Champions League and have won both Premier League games so far,” said Lawrenson. “It is brave of Guardiola to let Joe Hart leave but my worry for City is up front.Wilfried Bony has been linked with West Ham and, if they let him go, they are short of cover in attack.”
“If anything happens to Sergio Aguero, that only leaves Kelechi Iheanacho to lead the line – and he is a doubt himself after picking up an injury against Steaua Bucharest. I still fancy City to win this one, though. West Ham have been hit by a few injuries and were pretty ordinary for long spells against Bournemouth last week, although the most important thing for them was winning the game,” he added.
What’s your prediction for Manchester City v West Ham United?
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