Amid the furore surrounding Roberto Mancini, Manchester City will look to build on a solid, if not convincing, start to their English Premier League season with a visit to West Ham United.
City, in third one point behind league leaders Chelsea, have been in the news over the past 24 hours, after the Guardian broke a story on City manager Mancini holding talks with Monaco over a possible move last season, and were it not for a last-gasp victory in the English Premier League last May, City would have a different manager by now.
It is a distraction which Mancini, still trying to come to grips with playing at a high-level in all competitions, could have done without. The defending champions did not have the distraction of the League Cup in midweek and have had a full week's rest, something that is sure to stand them in good stead.
However, West Ham also have had seven days without a game, and Sam Allardyce will look to make it as difficult as possible for the away side to play their game.
Mancini will know City will be faced with an aerial bombardment, with Andy Carroll West Ham's prime outlet. City, like most teams in the Premier League this season, have looked far from convincing in defense, and in the late kickoff on Saturday, that defense will be put to the test at every opportunity, with crosses, free kicks and long balls very much the order of the day.
Playmaker David Silva will only return next week, but City will be boosted by the return of Pablo Zabaleta at right back, made more important by the loss of Micah Richards, who is facing up to four months out.
"I feel good, I've been training with the team and I think I should be fine to play on Saturday," Zabaleta said. "We have some problems in defence at the moment. We've had three full backs injured over the past few months, so it is great to be back with the team."
City's other right back Maicon is yet to make a full recovery and is ruled out of Saturday's game. Defensive midfielder Javi Garcia, however, could be available.
West Ham, who sit in ninth with 14 points, face a tricky set of games where they first face City, and then take on the likes of Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
"We knew (about the fixtures) at the start of the season and that is why we were looking to get the points on the board that we did and like I say, nine games have passed by and we have had two disappointing results, both away," West Ham manager Allardyce said.
"Certainly Southampton and Reading will be looking at us and be a little jealous but there is this group of fixtures and it will be very difficult indeed.
"We accept that we probably won't get as many points as we have collected in the first part of the season but we have got to try and get as many points as we possibly can and then move on to late December and January.
"Our season is determined on what we do against the bottom eight, not the top five or six. The top five or six is an ultimate bonus if you get a result against them."
In team news for the home side, Ricardo Vaz Te, Alou Diarra, Mathew Taylor and Jack Collison continue to be ruled out, but Guy Demel is expected to shake off a hip injury which kept him out for the last game.
Everything that is good about West Ham so far has come through Andy Carroll, but despite some good performances, the striker is yet to score in six appearances since making his move from Liverpool on a season-long loan. Allardyce, however, is not too concerned about the lack of goals from his first-choice forward.
"I think he's a little frustrated by it but that's the issue," Allardyce said. "I think the more and more he plays, with the players we've got, the more and more he can start to read how the situation develops and hopefully get on the end of it.
"He had one very good chance at Wigan, which dropped to his right foot, and I think probably, in his heyday, he probably would have just volleyed it straight away. He just tried to bring it down and miscontrolled it.
"It's not all about Andy and his heading ability. He's very, very good at scoring goals on the floor as well, so we have got to keep providing the service and, eventually, he'll start putting it in the net, we hope."
There will be no better time for Carroll to break that duck than against the Premier League champions at Upton Park.
Expected lineups: West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, McCartney, Noble, Diame, Nolan, Jarvis, Benayoun, Carroll.
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Garcia, Toure, Nasri, Tevez, Aguero.
Prediction: 3-1 to City
