Fernandinho and Laporte start as City make three changes for West Ham

Pep Guardiola has made three changes for the penultimate Premier League game of the season against West Ham United, though Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte retain their place after recovering from the knocks they picked up against Wolves.

Both players limped off early in the midweek win at Molineux, but have been declared fit to start and will resume their central defensive partnership against David Moyes’ men.

It means Jack Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez are the only changes for City, with the attacking trio replacing Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling, who are all among the substitutes.

Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kyle Walker remain out with injury, so the bench is completed by the the young quartet of CJ Egan-Riley, Luke Mbete, Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia.

Teams

CITY: Ederson, Cancelo, Fernandinho (C), Laporte, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Mahrez, Jesus, Grealish.

SUBS: Steffen, Ake, Sterling, Gundogan, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete, Palmer, Lavia.

WEST HAM: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice (C), Soucek, Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio.

SUBS: Areola (GK), Johnson, Fredericks, Kral, Noble, Masuaku, Okoflex, Vlasic, Yarmolenko.

Formation

It should be the usual 4-3-3 for City today.

Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko will take their usual full-back roles, either side of Fernandinho and Laporte, with Rodrigo protecting the back four as the deepest lying midfielder.

Bernardo Silva and the in form Kevin De Bruyne complete the midfield and will be tasked with providing the creativity that unlocks the Hammers’ defence for the returning trio of Grealish, Jesus and Mahrez in the forward line.

The Algerian’s inclusion suggests the Brazilian will lead the line up front, with Grealish operating off the left flank, but, as always, we’ll have to wait until kick-off to see how Guardiola’s men shape up.

Stats and facts

CITYZENS: – Score Predictor_West Ham v City_all