Defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka insists West Ham United are fully focused on executing their own gameplan as they look to bounce back to winning ways away at reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers travel north to take on Pep Guardiola’s serial winners, who find themselves in the unusual position of sixth in the top-flight table following a run of just two wins in ten league outings.
A loss of form and the injury absences of the likes of Rodri and John Stones have contributed to City’s toughest spell since the appointment of their Spanish boss in 2016, though a 2-0 victory at Leicester City helped them close out 2024 in positive fashion and they are sure to be gunning for three points back on home soil.
Wan-Bissaka - who completed the full 90 minutes as the Citizens ran out 3-1 winners at London Stadium in the teams’ reverse meeting earlier this season - is in no doubt of the dangers posed by a side who won the treble in 2022/23, but is confident he and his colleagues have what it takes to claim at least some share of the spoils, even without sidelined captain Jarrod Bowen.
Our No29 said: “Every game in the Premier League is difficult, and our focus hasn’t been on them in the lead-up to the match. The main thing for us is to focus on ourselves, on how we can improve and how we grow in the game.
“He [Bowen] will be a big miss, because he’s our captain, but we can’t let it get to us. We all know that we’ve got to play for the team, and we’re all hopeful of putting in a good performance.
“We’re ready to work together throughout the match, as a unit, and despite what happened against Liverpool last time out I think we’re in a good place and ready to do that.”
Defeat at home to leaders Liverpool last weekend brought the Irons’ impressive four-game unbeaten run to an end, but Wan-Bissaka believes there are plenty of positives to build on from a largely productive December, now heading into the New Year fixtures.
Since signing from Manchester City’s local rivals Manchester United in the summer, the 27-year-old has scored two goals in 19 appearances in all competitions, and he is excited to try and guide his team to success in the remainder of 2024/25.
Wan-Bissaka added: “It’s never a good feeling to lose like we did against Liverpool, but we’ve tried to put that behind us and we’re all looking to bounce back sraight away.
“It’s been up and down overall, but we’ve come through the difficult periods and now we’re going into the second half of the season with a positive mindset. We all just want to keep getting better, and we’re looking forward to trying to do that.”
