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January Transfer speculation, (it will be here before you know it)

Ravel49

10:03AM

West Ham v Fulham, Saturday 27th December, 15:00

Expat_Hammer

9:43AM

It's ages since I've started a match thread, and I'm hoping to go on a long run this time.

The first of three games in a short space of time, so come on lads, let's get the ball rolling with a win

COYI

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it...........Away to Man City SAT 20th Dec 3pm

alderz

8:51AM

Personally, I don’t think it’s particularly likely that we’ll string results together, but it was also unlikely that Leeds would have done so a month ago. It was also unlikely that Bournemouth would go 7 without a win, or that Arsenal would be pegged back from an 8pt lead so quickly. It’s too early to be so certain of anything, IMO.

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it...........Away to Man City SAT 20th Dec 3pm

claretandbluesky

12:18AM

This match against City is not going to change any season, we always lose to City away. If we get 9 points from the next four matches we will be in a decent position, It's a huge ask with our AFCON players missing but not impossible. Wolves are very poor, we have beaten Forest away already and so if we can get a result against Fulham at home it's not impossible. I am not down playing the task but a lot of people are ending the season at game 17 not game 38. If you look at it this way I don't think it looks quite so impossible.

In the next 21 matches can we get 7 points more than Leeds?
In the next 21 matches can we get 6 points more than Forest ?
In the next 21 matches can we not get 3 points less than Burnley
In the next 21 matches Can we not get 12 points less than Wolves?

We would need meet only three of those four targets.

This is definitely possible in my view, but it does start in the next four matches.

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it...........Away to Man City SAT 20th Dec 3pm

ASLEFshrugged

December 19

Our last win against City was 27 October 2021 at home in the League Cup, our last win the Premier League was 19 September 2015 at the Etihad when Keven De Bruyne scored his first goal for City on his first start.

Ten years later De Bruyne has gone to Napoli and our record in the Premier League against City is lost 16, drawn 3 with our last draw 15 May 2022

Other big names that left in summer were Ederson, Walker, Gundogan and Grealish. In came Reijnders (£46m), Ait-Nouri (£36m), Cherki (£34m) and Donnarumma (£26m) but otherwise it’s the same side as last season with the average age slightly reduced

Haaland is top scorer, Foden 2nd but just about everyone other than Donnarumma has scored a goal or two.

One name that got overshadowed in the big moves was CB Manuel Akanji who made 40 appearances (35 starts) in all competitions last season but was allowed to join Inter on a season long loan with a £13m option to buy with reports that Inter have already decided to make the move permanent at the end of the season

In the other direction GK James Trafford returned from Burnley as back-up for Donnarumma at double the price they sold him for two years ago

There will be a few absences, Ait-Nouri and Marmoush are off to the African Cup of Nations while Kovacic, Rodri, Doku, Stones and Bobb are injured.

Guardiola made seven changes for the Carabao Cup win over Brentford although only Reijnders played the full 90 minutes on Sunday and Wednesday

One familiar name we won't see is Kalvin Phillips who hasn’t played since he came on in the 83rd minute against Huddersfield in September, stayed on the bench for the visit to Swansea in October and hasn't been seen since.

Two years ago he started for England against Italy in a Euro qualifier, a strange journey from Wembley to the Kirklees Stadium