Our prediction for this EFL Cup match:
West Ham United and Manchester City face each other in a highly-anticipated EFL Cup game. The Hammers did well to beat Spurs in the London derby on Sunday, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry in the EFL Cup last 16. Ukraine international Yarmolenko is widely expected to return to the starting XI, while Coufal will be assessed ahead of the kick-off. Michail Antonio, who scored the winner at the weekend, should continue to lead the line for the hosts.
The Citizens, on the other hand, faced no difficulties in a 4-1 win at Brighton where Pep Guardiola rested key player Kevin De Bruyne. KDB returns to the starting XI against West Ham, and seeing that Man City have been scoring goals for fun in all competitions of late, away win should be considered. All Torres, Delap, and Mendy are sidelined with injuries for the visiting team.
Highlighted Player (Issa Diop):
After spending two years at Balma SC, Issa Diop joined Toulouse football academy in 2006 and he was making progress year by year. The 194-cm-tall defender made seven appearances for Toulouse B in the 2014/2015 season and he made his Ligue 1 debut with les Pitchouns on November 28, 2015 against Nice.
Issa Diop, who was born in Toulouse on January 9, 1997, scored his first ever goal in the French top flight in a 3-0 win over Troyes in December, 2015. Diop is a youth international for France at various levels, but seeing that his father Labysse Diop is of Senegal descent, the Toulouse footballer could represent les Lions de la Teranga at senior level.
The Toulouse defender scored two goals for les Pitchouns in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign and he made no less than 30 appearances for the club in the process. Issa Diop has a contract with Toulouse which expires on June 30, 2020.
Highlighted Team (Man City):
Manchester City are the lest famous of the two major clubs based in Manchester. The club was founded in 1880, but they have been struggling in the English Premier League in the past. Nonetheless, ever since the club was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, the Citizens have been playing an important role in the English top flight.
Manchester City won two Premier League trophies under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini (2011/2012 and 2013/2014), but both managers eventually paid the price for some disappointing results. Man City play their home games at the Etihad Stadium and the stadium capacity is 55,097.
Manchester United are regarded as Manchester City’s biggest rivals and the likes of Kun Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Uwe Rosler, Yaya Toure, Sylvain Distin are some of the most remarkable players that played for the Etihad Stadium outfit. Manchester City have won four Premier League titles and five FA Cup trophies and it has to be noted that they made it to the Champions League semis in the 2015/2016 season.