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West Ham United are underdogs against Manchester City and Chris Sutton thinks beating Pep Guardiola’s side is frankly an impossible task.
Sutton has not been confident about West Ham United in recent weeks, despite their revival in the Premier League.
Indeed, West Ham fans do have reason to think they can beat Man City. Guardiola’s team are no longer the force they were, and the Irons are flying high right now.
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Still, the pundit just doesn’t think it’s enough to overcome the former Premier League champions.
Sutton doesn’t rate West Ham’s home form
Sutton, who predicted a 2-1 win for City, wrote in his BBC Sport column: “Manchester City have not lost to West Ham in the league since 2015 but this will be a test for them.
“The Hammers are desperate for points, while City melted in Madrid in midweek. From 3-0 down, I can’t see them turning that tie around on Tuesday.
“This is a big few weeks for Pep Guardiola’s side, who have got Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals and are clinging on in Europe.
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“At the moment the Quadruple is still on for City but at the moment you’d say they are far more likely to end up with a trophyless season than they are to win all four.
“West Ham surprised me by beating Fulham in their last league game but I am still not convinced by them at home.
“This will be tricky for City but I think they will edge it. Everyone else seems to have lost faith in Erling Haaland, but not me. He will score, and City will win.”
While Sutton admits that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side surprised him by beating Fulham last week, he remains unconvinced about them playing at home.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Sutton believes West Ham fans make playing at the London Stadium difficult, because of their dislike of the ground.
There’s a certain logic to that, but Nuno’s side have been reasonably good at home recently.
Clearly, that doesn’t mean supporters will warm to the stadium, just that the Irons are starting to make it something of a fortress – in the context of this season’s relegation battle at least.
The Hammers are unbeaten in their last four home games across all competitions, winning twice and drawing the other two.
West Ham have a dreadful record against City in the Premier League, having last beaten them in 2015.
Erling Haaland – despite his excellent record against West Ham – is struggling right now and, at some point, the tide has to turn.
After 20 games without a win against the Manchester giants, this is the longest winless run the club have ever had against an opponent.
Nothing, as they say, can last forever…
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