Man City vs West Ham | PL | 20.12.25 | Predictions & Match Thread

[stubbo-admin]

I'll stick up all the usual match content a bit later, but thought I'd get the thread up:

---------------------------------
This weekend brings what has been in recent times arguably the most daunting match of the season 

Away at the ever fluent, ball-dominating Manchester City...a club that in previous times we had much in common with and a certain kindred spirit, but that in more modern times merely emphasise the difference that getting owners of means with a true desire for sporting success versus barrow merchants with no interest in the Club beyond buying it cheap, taking advantage of circumstance, and like house prices....doing just enough to keep it viable while watching the market trend see it's value appreciate.

We go into this game notably affected by the departure of two largely ever presents to AFCON.

AWB and Diouf are off in search of glory at the International stage. Füllkrug is unlikely to be risked with a move to AC Milan (!) seemingly on the agenda, and with January feeling as far away as ever our lightweight squad and it's meagre offerings take in one of the juggernauts of the North.

Predicted Line-up:

All eyes will be on the full-back slots, as well as if Nuno reverts to a 3 at the back.  Scarles is fit again.

Areola

Mavropanos   Kilman.  Todibo

KWP.     Magassa.  Fernandes.     Scarles

Paqueta

Bowen (c).    Summerville

Subs: Hermansen, Igor, Myers, Rodriguez, Soucek, Potts, Wilson, Earthy, Irving

Predicted Result:

Man City: 4 - 0 :West Ham

Can't see anything but a heavy defeat in this one after too much PTSD with the Sky Blues. Expect Haaland to run amok as usual.

Hope for the best. Expect the worst. But a 1-0 defeat would feel like a win.

COYI.

 

[southbankbornnbred]

Shouldn’t judge a struggling side by a game against the team likely to win the league.

But it’s Christmas now and we’re in the relegation zone - with no real sign we’ll get out of this mess.

Judging over the 17 games so far, we’re a fucking catastrophe of a team. Both under Partridge and Nuno.

Cannot stress enough what a pathetic waste of money players like Kilman, Fullkrug, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Summerville (somebody beautifully described him as “all fart and no shit”), Hermansen etc have been. It’s a shit, expensive and utterly clueless squad in need of a massive overhaul.

Despite this, we still have a chance of staying up. Because the bottom half of the league is quite poor.

But we need to win a couple of games quickly - and have a canny transfer window. 

[Mex Martillo]

 

I think a fair few of them are not even playing for Nuno or believe in him anymore. He fucks an honest Pro out the building the moment he walks through the door cutting off his nose to spite his face which never sat well with me. Ignores Wilson a lot of the time, the body language of the players generally looks off and showing a real lack of effort today. That was walking Football with no spirit from the very 1st whistle when they were all fresh as a daisy. That shit is alarming and very noticeable and real signs many of them aint playing for him anymore.  

Even Nuno himself doesn't look like he really wants to be here anymore. 

The same honest pro that 99.99% of us wanted gone? 

 

The same honest Pro that can be useful at times yes. In our position you do not fuck a player of his experience and quality on set pieces out the building long before the next window opens based on no discipline action. It's shocking management and people's alarm bells should have been ringing when that was his first move at the Club.  

Yes, I didn't want him starting, but he is a decent option to have on the bench. Having said that I think Nino is the best of the last 4 and will keep us up.

[Massive Attack]

The players are showing absolutely zero character and belief in what they are doing.

Nuno serves up the most turgid, negative and fearful football I’ve ever seen.

 

I think a fair few of them are not even playing for Nuno or believe in him anymore. He fucks an honest Pro out the building the moment he walks through the door cutting off his nose to spite his face which never sat well with me. Ignores Wilson a lot of the time, the body language of the players generally looks off and showing a real lack of effort today. That was walking Football with no spirit from the very 1st whistle when they were all fresh as a daisy. That shit is alarming and very noticeable and real signs many of them aint playing for him anymore.  

Even Nuno himself doesn't look like he really wants to be here anymore. 

The same honest pro that 99.99% of us wanted gone? 

 

 

The same honest Pro that can be useful at times yes. In our position you do not fuck a player of his experience and quality on set pieces out the building long before the next window opens based on no discipline action. It's shocking management and people's alarm bells should have been ringing when that was his first move at the Club.  

[Jaan Kenbrovin]

I'm still not panicking. I think we play well enough to get something out of the second half of the season. As long as we get some forwards in. I dont care about the defence, I think it's ok tbh. But we just aren't putting chances away. I'd spend it all on Ivan Toney if I could. 

 

You must be joking? We have let in 35 goals and are lucky we haven’t conceded about 10 more, due to Areola. Our defence is abysmal

Trying to see out wins in the dying minutes from winning positions has proven we will go down if it isn’t addressed.

[twoleftfeet]

The players are showing absolutely zero character and belief in what they are doing.

Nuno serves up the most turgid, negative and fearful football I’ve ever seen.

 

I think a fair few of them are not even playing for Nuno or believe in him anymore. He fucks an honest Pro out the building the moment he walks through the door cutting off his nose to spite his face which never sat well with me. Ignores Wilson a lot of the time, the body language of the players generally looks off and showing a real lack of effort today. That was walking Football with no spirit from the very 1st whistle when they were all fresh as a daisy. That shit is alarming and very noticeable and real signs many of them aint playing for him anymore.  

Even Nuno himself doesn't look like he really wants to be here anymore. 

The same honest pro that 99.99% of us wanted gone? 

[Mex Martillo]

Paqueta made some very good contributions. But also the usual give them the ball back nonsense. I don't think we have better, but he is part of the problem. 
We are certainly arriving at that point of hoping another team does worse than us.

[Massive Attack]

The players are showing absolutely zero character and belief in what they are doing.

Nuno serves up the most turgid, negative and fearful football I’ve ever seen.

 

 

I think a fair few of them are not even playing for Nuno or believe in him anymore. He fucks an honest Pro out the building the moment he walks through the door cutting off his nose to spite his face which never sat well with me. Ignores Wilson a lot of the time, the body language of the players generally looks off and showing a real lack of effort today. That was walking Football with no spirit from the very 1st whistle when they were all fresh as a daisy. That shit is alarming and very noticeable and real signs many of them aint playing for him anymore.  

Even Nuno himself doesn't look like he really wants to be here anymore. 

[Sweep]

Only caught the second half.

Thought we had a few decent chances until Scarles went off.  

Defending for the 3rd was absolutely pathetic.

We looked flat footed and the subs just made that worse,

Next few games are massive. New players need to be through the door before Forest/QPR games.

[threesixty]

I'm still not panicking. I think we play well enough to get something out of the second half of the season. As long as we get some forwards in. I dont care about the defence, I think it's ok tbh. But we just aren't putting chances away. I'd spend it all on Ivan Toney if I could. 
 

[Jasnik]

Summervile was not in the game today. What annoyed me the most the amount of our players were walking after losing the ball.

[Jaan Kenbrovin]

The players are showing absolutely zero character and belief in what they are doing.

Nuno serves up the most turgid, negative and fearful football I’ve ever seen.

[boleyn8420]

Well I got that wrong when I said Haaland on for a hat-trick, he only scored 2. What is the point of setting up from the start to keeping the score down. Cowardly, spineless and clueless from all concerned, again. Why would you want to keep Nuno when he sets us up to fail repeatedly. FFS

[twoleftfeet]

Could have been better.
Could have been worse.

[gpike]

10 minutes to go and he then decides to make FOUR changes all at once and we end up with 4 Defensive changes in total as well as a token disrespectful jog out for Wilson who has little time to really make a difference up top. Respect the 3-0 defeat. Pathetic. 

Sack the useless twat.  

It's the right thing to do at 3 down.. Not much that has led up to it was right though 

 

The issue I have with his approach to subs in the 2nd half is being so late and reactive today. It was clear at half time that at 2-0 we needed to take an element of risk and maybe freshen it up early in the 2nd half which could have given us some impetus for the rest of the half. Maybe I'm wrong for thinking it but I would have been proactive and sent Wilson on around the hour mark to cause them issues in their final third and then Soucek to help out in both boxes. Instead what we did was wait until Scarles was injured, then wait till the last 10 minutes after we conceded another to send a Striker on along with 3 others. It's not for me.

Agree with all of that. Don't know what the plan was that didn't involve hoping for the best. Need some key signings in Jan or else our goose is cooked 

[Helmut Shown]

Well, wasn't that fucking awful. Defence co-ordinsted by the Keystone Kops

[Sir Alf]

Massive freshen it up you are right but not when you only have options like Guido, Soucek etc. Wilson maybe but he cant run channels or play as a target man to be an outball. We can only bring on slower players. 

We should put the U21s on the bench. They can freshen things up. Earthy etc and mayers did well I thought

[Massive Attack]

Top marks to those who travelled to Manchester to endure what is shooting fish in a barrel
Safe journey home



 

Feel for them, they don't deserve to put up with travelling to witness this shit. Safe journey home indeed.

[fraser]

10 minutes to go and he then decides to make FOUR changes all at once and we end up with 4 Defensive changes in total as well as a token disrespectful jog out for Wilson who has little time to really make a difference up top. Respect the 3-0 defeat. Pathetic. 

Sack the useless twat.  

It's the right thing to do at 3 down.. Not much that has led up to it was right though 

 

The issue I have with his approach to subs in the 2nd half is being so late and reactive today. It was clear at half time that at 2-0 we needed to take an element of risk and maybe freshen it up early in the 2nd half which could have given us some impetus for the rest of the half. Maybe I'm wrong for thinking it but I would have been proactive and sent Wilson on around the hour mark to cause them issues in their final third and then Soucek to help out in both boxes. Instead what we did was wait until Scarles was injured, then wait till the last 10 minutes after we conceded another to send a Striker on along with 3 others. It's not for me.

 

 

But I sort of agreed with you, it didn't matter by that time though.. It should have been earlier 

[Fauxstralian]

Of course!
Still think it’s all about us
Reckon 38 pts is needed so that’s 25 in 21 games
If you can’t achieve that you can have no complaints 
Without turning it around in the 3 home games & Wolves away that looks beyond us right now with our complete inability to keep a clean sheet

[Massive Attack]

10 minutes to go and he then decides to make FOUR changes all at once and we end up with 4 Defensive changes in total as well as a token disrespectful jog out for Wilson who has little time to really make a difference up top. Respect the 3-0 defeat. Pathetic. 

Sack the useless twat.  

It's the right thing to do at 3 down.. Not much that has led up to it was right though 

 

 

The issue I have with his approach to subs in the 2nd half is being so late and reactive today. It was clear at half time that at 2-0 we needed to take an element of risk and maybe freshen it up early in the 2nd half which could have given us some impetus for the rest of the half. Maybe I'm wrong for thinking it but I would have been proactive and sent Wilson on around the hour mark to cause them issues in their final third and then Soucek to help out in both boxes. Instead what we did was wait until Scarles was injured, then wait till the last 10 minutes after we conceded another to send a Striker on along with 3 others. It's not for me.

[nychammer]

Top marks to those who travelled to Manchester to endure what is shooting fish in a barrel
Safe journey home

Wolves are gone already but need Bournemouth to hold the 1-0 v Burnley & Palace to do us a favour later at Leeds
It’s all about our next 4 games & US doing something.
Need 3 wins or we are close to cooked

 

Right on cue Burnley equalize 

[Fauxstralian]

Top marks to those who travelled to Manchester to endure what is shooting fish in a barrel
Safe journey home

Wolves are gone already but need Bournemouth to hold the 1-0 v Burnley & Palace to do us a favour later at Leeds
It’s all about our next 4 games & US doing something.
Need 3 wins or we are close to cooked
 

[Sir Alf]

Has Soucek touched it yet?  

[fraser]

10 minutes to go and he then decides to make FOUR changes all at once and we end up with 4 Defensive changes in total as well as a token disrespectful jog out for Wilson who has little time to really make a difference up top. Respect the 3-0 defeat. Pathetic. 

Sack the useless twat.  

It's the right thing to do at 3 down.. Not much that has led up to it was right though 

[Massive Attack]

10 minutes to go and he then decides to make FOUR changes all at once and we end up with 4 Defensive changes in total as well as a token disrespectful jog out for Wilson who has little time to really make a difference up top. Respect the 3-0 defeat. Pathetic. 

Sack the useless twat.