Will It Be Diop Or Dawson or BOTH?

Hammers head up to Manchester to face City at the Etihad knowing full well that their hosts have been dismantling teams for fun of late, the daunting prospect having been made more acute due to Angelo Ogbonna being out with his ACL injury. It was plain to see that Kurt Zouma's display was compromised during the defeat against Wolves, as he was forced to play on the left as opposed to his preferred right in order to accommodate Craig Dawson, who is definitely NOT able to play on the left.

Dawson by his own standards was poor against Wolves, that said so were a lot of the team that day, but he is so right footed he HAS to play on the right or in the centre of a three. If David Moyes is only going to play two centre backs then logic dictates that he MUST play Issa Diop against City.

It should be remembered how well Diop and Dawson played against City in the Carabou Cup victory, they both played their part in keeping City at bay, but it was Diop, NOT Dawson who was the leader, the dominant force. Diop's athleticism could prove key against City, he may have a mistake in him but he brings the ball out of defence intelligently thus buying the team time to spring counter attacks.

Moyes could go for Dawson, Diop and Zouma as a back three but that might be risky, if he does actually select Diop and Zouma as a centre back pair instead of using Dawson, it would be a bit of a poisoned chalice for Issa, get a rare Premier League start, but it's against all conquering City at their place!

No one expects anything other than a loss for tomorrow's game, a draw if Hammers are incredibly lucky maybe, but the way the team plays is essential, irrespective of the size of the task. Hammers are going to come up against some pretty big fish as the UEFA Europa League Cup competition reaches is closing stages, so the players might as well get used to it! - Ed