Manchester City are likely one game away from clinching the title consecutively for the second time in a row. City very well knows that a win from their remaining two matches may bring them the title this year.
Moreover, the goal difference that they have been able to collect over the last few games has been impressive. They have scored 14 goals in the last four games that they played. This took their goal difference margin over Liverpool to 7. This means that if they still lose a match here they would not be knocked out of their pole position.
However, Pep does not have a lot of experienced defenders at hand to play the West Ham match. Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker and John Stones are all out for the rest of the season. Moreover, Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte had to be taken off midweek in the game against Wolves with an injury. Therefore, they too could miss this match.
So, the safe thing that City could do is to play lightly and go full guns on their last game against Aston Villa. West Ham would too have something to fight for as they struggle to hold on to their seventh position to play Europa League next season. However, Villa would also be a tough fixture as they gave a hard time to Liverpool midweek.
How difficult could be the West Ham fixture for Manchester City?
The advantage for City would be their aggressive gameplay. This means that they would not have to adjust their strategy for West Ham. City are again top of the table owing to their maximum number of wins over any other team in the Premier League.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have drawn more and lost less than City. Therefore, City would push for the win despite their lack of first-team defenders on the bench. The win on the other hand would confirm them the title.
However, it would not be easy against David Moyes’ West Ham who have quite impressive in the last few matches.
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