West Ham United Vs Man City: Pep Guardiola Believes Even Without Phil Foden And Rodri

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (X/@ManCity)

JAKARTA - Manchester City's squad was incomplete when they played an away match in the English Premier League against West Ham United, Saturday, August 31, 2024 evening WIB. Although midfielders Phil and Rodri may miss the duel at London Stadium, Man City is still seeded.

Foden is still sick and has not fully recovered so it is likely to be absent again. Foden was fielded as a substitute in Man City's first match in a 2-0 win over Chelsea.

However, the England's 2024 best player was no longer played in the next match against promoted Ipswich Town. In that match, Man City performed brilliantly to beat The Tractor Boys 4-0 so that they could come to the top of the standings because they had a better goal difference than their competitors.

Rodri himself is still grappling with a hamstring injury after bringing Spain to win Euro 2024. Even Rodri did not play in the first two matches of The Cityzens. Even though he didn't have one, Man City was still able to win the game. This also removes the Man City stigma which is difficult to win when Rodri doesn't play.

Finally, the doubtful midfielder Mateo Kovacic was able to appear when the reigning champions visited the Hammers headquarters in London. He suffered an injury in the match against Ipswich. Even though his condition has improved, Pep Guardiola's manager still considers him to appear in that match.

" Rodri's condition is getting better. Likewise, Kovacic has improved. On the other hand, Phil still doesn't feel better. But he has no problem," said Guardiola.

Despite losing pillar players, including Oscar Bobb's forward who suffered a broken leg, Guardiola remains optimistic about Man City's ability to face competition in the Premier League. They are also confident that they will be able to get three points when playing away matches.

Guardiola said the Man City squad was so complete that there was no need to buy many players which resulted in the team's reshuffle.

Man City, who scored a Premier League title record four times in a row, only brought Ilkay Gundogan, the former team captain, who returned to join after leaving Barcelona.

In addition, Man City, which is overshadowed by the threat of severe sanctions, includes removing the league title or dropping caste due to serious financial fair play violations, bringing in winger Savinho from Troyes.

"I am happy with the squad right now. But if many players are injured, of course this will be a problem for us," said Guardiola again.

"Maybe this is a mistake (not looking for a player who replaces Julian Alvarez). But I don't know [whether this is a mistake]. But I really don't like letting players play for a long time," said the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach.

Guardiola himself has prepared Gundogan if Rodri and Kovacic cannot be played. Guardiola believes Gundogan will immediately adapt to the team.

How could I not, this German midfielder has played in Man City for a long time and was last captain when the team won trebles before joining Barca last season.

"He's a top player. He already knows what we're going to do and how to build togetherness. We already know each other and that's what happened," he said.

Meanwhile, West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui received a task that was not easy because he had to be able to maintain the team's performance. West Ham started the competition with bad results because they lost 2-1 at home to Aston Villa in the first match.

But they quickly got up by beating Crystal Palace 2-0 in the London Derby. The positive trend in the Carabao Cup continues. West Ham is overcoming fellow Premier League team Bournemouth.

Lopetegui will field the best squad despite losing German national team striker Niclas Fullkrug who was brought in from Borussia Dortmund. His position was replaced by Michael Antonio.

On the other hand, former Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka will start. Meanwhile, Lucas Paqueta worked hand in hand with Mohammed Kudus.

Although West Ham appeared at full strength, Man City was still seeded in that match. The visitors not only relied on Erling Haaland to break into the goal.

There are still other players who regularly score goals and this is Lopetegui's homework to reduce the offensive play of his compatriots. Yes, this duel between fellow Spanish managers will be interesting.