Pelle’s big players look set for City showdown

Manuel Pellegrini has been preaching the message that West Ham are a big club for months and that wherever they travel must play like one!

So the fascinating question is whether he will show the same quality – a big manager with a big vision – for what is probably the biggest and toughest match of the year in Manchester on Wednesday evening.

Pelle is returning to City – an avowed fan of the club but determined to dent their Title aspirations with his new Premier League club…the Irons!

And if he is going to show himself as the first believer in the ‘big club’ philosophy which has become his mantra we must hope that he calls up players whose techniques of which he is a self confessed and important admirer.

It will be fascinating to see where the flair players fit into his plan for  a match which could become an emotional return for himself, Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta.

Given his approach to management it seems reasonable to assume that Nasri, Felipe Anderson and Manu Lanzini could all feature at some stage.

Working on the basis that we are now safe from the end of season relegation routine there’s every reason to go into the game with a line up which at the very least gives us chance of goals.

After Man City drew a blank against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup Final, expect goals galore here. Both teams to score is priced at evens, with over 4.5 goals at 2/1 not looking like the worst odds to get your free bets on.

My score prediction has odds as high as 33/1, which is no surprise given that City are overwhelming favourites as they look to shorten their odds to win the Premier League title against a team that may not feature a familiar face for them.

I see no role for Zaba – emotions or otherwise – given the events of Friday night when despite being a particular favourite of the manager he was hooked at half time and Ryan Fredericks thrown on.

Nor do I see Manu starting but depending on the state of the game I would see him coming on after the break.

I also believe that despite his lack of action, the boss will go with Nasri rather than Mark Noble on this occasion as he looks for more craft against this particular opposition.

And I think we will see Marko Arnautovic start with a message from the boss possibly ringing in his ears: ‘You think you are the best so go and prove it against the best.‘

The upside is that we go into this game free of all anxiety and working on the manager’s recent words that anyone can beat anyone he is more likely to go for it than not.

My mind wanders back to September 2015 when we went to the Etihad expecting nothing but a hiding. Instead we walked away with an amazing 2-1 win after withstanding a second half siege of epic proportions.

Yes, anything is possible and with the team I hope the boss puts out I reckon we have chances of a draw.

Here’s the CandH team: Fabianski, Fredericks, Ogbonna, Diop, Cresswell; Nasri, Rice, Antonio, Anderson, Chicharito, Arnautovic.

Prediction: 2-2