Pep Guardiola has opted to protect Fernandinho and Vincent Kompany ahead of the Manchester derby with both players one booking away from suspension.
David Silva returns and takes the skipper’s armband while Danilo makes only his fourth Premier League start of the campaign,
Starting XI:
City: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Mangala, Danilo, Delph, De Bruyne, D Silva (c), Sterling, Sane, Aguero
Subs: Bravo, Yaya Toure, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Bernardo, Jesus, Kompany
.@pablo_zabaleta captains the team for the first time! ⓒ#COYI ⚒ pic.twitter.com/smlUVpSEZc
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) December 3, 2017
Tactics:
Not easy to second-guess today’s formation.
Will Danilo play as part of a back three with Walker and Delph wing-backs? Or could the Brazilian take on Fernandinho’s role so the remainder of the formation remains more or less the same? We’ll have to wait until kick-off to find out.
Yellow peril
Fernandinho, Vincent Kompany and Leroy Sane are all one booking away from a one-game domestic ban - the former two start on the bench, with only Sane starting, but should any of them collect a caution today, they will miss next weekend’s Manchester derby.
Stats and milestones:
City will equal the number of successive Premier League wins in a single season with a win over the Hammers. The Blues have won 12 in a row and the record is 13, held by Arsenal and Chelsea, while the record for successive wins overall is Arsenal (14), though this included wins from two separate seasons.
City are looking for a 20th successive victory in all competitions and are unbeaten in 27 games in total.
West Ham have conceded the most goals this season (30) while City have scored the most (44).
City have won 12 of the last 17 meetings between the clubs, with the Blues scoring 43 goals and conceding 13.
Kevin De Bruyne has had a hand in 53 goals for the Blues since his debut in 2015 - scoring 17 and creating 36 for his team-mates.
