Manchester City will be taking on West Ham United today for their latest Premier League match.
In their two opening games of the season, City have secured victories over Chelsea and Ipswich Town, bagging six goals and conceding one in the process.
After beating Enzo Maresca’s side 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, the Manchester club thrashed Ipswich 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium to put them at the top of the Premier League table on goal difference.
With the Blues set to take on Julen Lopetegui’s side at the London Stadium later, Pep Guardiola has pinpointed one particular player at the East London club he sees as being a cut above the rest.
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Pep Guardiola praises Lucas Paqueta ahead of Man City vs West Ham
Speaking in his recent press conference, Guardiola had this to say about Lucas Paqueta when asked if he sees the midfielder as a key player for West Ham.
He said: “Absolutely. He’s an exceptional player, he can play in different roles, but not just him.”
Paqueta could be a danger to City
City were linked with a transfer move for the Brazilian back in the 2023 summer transfer window (via The Guardian), although a deal never materialised.
Back in the 2022 summer transfer window, the Hammers shelled out a club-record fee of £51m (via Sky Sports) to sign Paqueta from Lyon.
Since then, the midfielder has gone on to make 87 appearances for the East London club across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and delivering the same number of assists along the way.
In 31 league appearances last season, Paqueta ended the campaign with more passes into the penalty area (50) than any other West Ham player, as well as racking up the joint-highest total of goal-creating actions (16) at the club.
This makes it easy to see why Guardiola is such an admirer of the 27-year-old and how much of a problem he could cause for City in today’s game.
