West Ham have been handed a blow ahead of our showdown with champions Manchester City this weekend, it has been reported.

Our Hammers take on the treble winners and current league leaders at the London Stadium on Saturday, with West Ham in excellent form also to set the tone for a very interesting encounter.

David Moyes’ side, although up against arguably the best side on the planet for the 3pm kickoff, will be going into the match confident of being capable of causing an upset.

West Ham are currently unbeaten, having won 3 games on the bounce, which included victories over Chelsea and Brighton – although the Man City test is expected to be a significant challenge.

The champions’ planning and general mood going into this match though has received a huge boost, with the news that Pep Guardiola will be in the dugout once again, having missed their last 2 matches due to a routine operation back in Spain.

Although the Citizens won both those games, there was a noticeable edge slightly missing from their displays, which could mean a real step up by the champions this weekend.

However, David Moyes’ is vastly experienced enough to handle the impact a Pep return may well have on City this weekend – and it’ll be hoped that West Ham will be able to execute our game plan to precision, as we have done so far this season.

“Once Guardiola returns to Manchester, there will be certain things he will want to work on. At the training ground, you expect him to be hard at work making tactical tweaks ahead of West Ham but perhaps the biggest bonus City will receive is his man-management,” it was reported by Jack Flintham in the Manchester Evening News.

“Guardiola’s ability to rouse his troops sometimes slips underneath the carpet in favour of focusing on his tactical brilliance but it should not be ignored how vital this is to City’s form.”