Safety beckons for West Ham as they face the daunting task of taking on Manchester City at the London Stadium and Nuno Espirito Santo is set to ring the changes.
The stakes are seriously high for both teams as the relegation-threatened Hammers welcome Pep Guardiola’s title chasers to east London on Saturday night.
A shock win for West Ham would see Nuno Espirito Santo’s rejuvenated side climb out of the Premier League drop zone for the first time since November – and for only the third occasion all season.
In fact West Ham will rise up to 16th, above both Nottingham Forest and Spurs, who play Fulham and Liverpool on Sunday.
Pablo out, Taty in as Nuno rings West Ham changes for Man City?
The Hammers go into the game off the back of another morale-boosting victory having seen off Brentford in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Man City come to London having been battered 3-0 by Real Madrid at the Bernabeau in midweek.
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Given the quality available to Guardiola, West Ham cannot read too much into the Madrid defeat.
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And Nuno does go into the game without his man of the moment Crysencio Summerville, who picked up a calf injury in the cup game having scored seven goals in his previous 10 games to reignite West Ham’s bid for survival.
Nuno Espirito Santo greets Pep Guardiola during a Premier League clash between their teams
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Nuno raised eyebrows by making sweeping changes for the Forest cup game.
Now Nuno looks set to make five West Ham changes for Man City as the safety zone beckons.
Change number one will see Mads Hermansen, West Ham’s new number one, return in goal to replace shootout hero Alphonse Areola.
The biggest change will be Nuno switching to a back five to try and combat Man City’s immense quality.
Hammers switch to back five vs Man City?
That will see three further changes as Jean-Clair Todibo, rested in the cup, comes back into central defence alongside Axel Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Todibo takes the place of Ollie Scarles on the teamsheet while Aaron Wan-Bissaka will replace Kyle Walker-Peters at right wingback.
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Erling Haaland of Manchester City looks dejected after the Premier League match between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest at Etihad Stadium on March 4, 2026 in Manchester, England.
Young midfield powerhouse Mohamadou Kante impressed on his home debut against the Bees.
But the Frenchman will drop out of the starting XI for El Hadji Malick Diouf to play at left wingback in change number four.
Jean-Clair Todibo of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Sunderland at London Stadium
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Change five will see Pablo, who also impressed on his return after a month out with injury, replaced by Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos up front.
That means Adama Traore, who played really well in the first half against Brentford, retains his place in the side to deputise for Summerville.
Predicted West Ham starting XI to face Manchester City:
Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Todibo, Diouf, Soucek, Fernandes, Bowen, Traore, Castellanos.
Nobody should doubt how seriously Guardiola is taking the game.
When he was asked about whether Man City could launch a comeback against Real Madrid after losing the first leg 3-0, a spiky Guardiola simply replied: “West Ham” to make it clear that was his only focus.
The Hammers have an absolutely horrific record against Man City since they came into money.
Man City have won the last seven in a row against the Irons and 19 of the last 22 in all competitons.
The only time the Hammers have beaten City in the last 11 years is a victory on penalties at the Etihad in the League Cup under David Moyes back in 2021.
That woeful record would be easier to accept if the Hammers came out on top in a game which could go a long way to securing safety this season.
But then of course there is Erling Haaland to worry about.
The striker has scored more goals against West Ham than any other club, notching 11 in just seven appearances against the east Londoners.
So is it any wonder Nuno is switching to a back five?
Official teams will be announced at 6.45pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off with the game live on TNT Sports.
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