LONDON: West Ham United manager David Moyes said his Leeds United counterpart Marcelo Bielsa may have been bluffing when he named his starting side in advance of Friday’s (Dec 10) Premier League clash between the teams.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bielsa was asked if he would keep West Ham guessing on his centre back partnership with Diego Llorente and Robin Koch out injured and the 65-year-old Argentine, who has previously coached in Spain, proceeded to list the entire lineup.

“It might not be his team. It could be a bluff. It could be very clever, but I do think it’s quite common for managers in Spain to name their teams before games from my experience,” Moyes, who previously managed Real Sociedad, told reporters.

“We see it in other sports. It doesn’t happen in our sport for different reasons, but overall, does it make it easier? I don’t think so because they’re a good team.

“Now and again, I’ve named the team early, but most of the time we keep it until later… We’ll keep our team until we’re ready to announce it and prepare our players for the game.”

Moyes said forward Michail Antonio was still doubtful due to a hamstring injury that also kept him out of last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by Manchester United, which saw the London side slip to eighth in the table with 17 points from 11 matches.

The Scottish manager said that he expects another tough game against 14th-placed Leeds at Elland Road.

“We’re going to have to play well and show we have players with a similar type of energy as they do,” Moyes said.

“They’ve been involved in some great games. Their style is great to watch. They’ve got a really experienced manager and he’s certainly got a good group of players.”

LONDON: Football managers often keep their cards close to their chest but Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has no problems revealing his hand, as he named his starting 11 for Friday’s Premier League clash at West Ham United two days early.

Asked on Wednesday who would partner skipper Liam Cooper in defence in the absence of the injured Diego Llorente and Robin Koch, Bielsa replied via his interpreter that it could be Luke Ayling or Kalvin Phillips.

He was then asked if he would keep West Ham guessing before the clash at Elland Road.

“Rodrigo Moreno is going to come in for (Diego) Llorente, and the eleven is going to be: (Illan) Meslier, (Stuart) Dallas, Ayling, Cooper, (Ezgjan) Alioski, Phillips, (Mateusz) Klich, Moreno, Raphinha, (Patrick) Bamford and (Jack) Harrison.”

Bielsa said Koch could be out for up to three months with a knee injury that required surgery while Llorente faces two weeks out due to a muscle problem sustained in last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by Chelsea.

Leeds are 14th in the standings with 14 points after four wins, two draws and five defeats.

REUTERS: Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said both Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial were substituted during Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham United because of muscle injuries.

Uruguayan striker Cavani, who scored twice as a substitute against Southampton last weekend, was operating as the central striker against West Ham, but did not come out for the second half at London Stadium.

French forward Martial was forced off the pitch after 62 minutes and was replaced by Juan Mata.

Solskjaer confirmed both strikers will undergo scans ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with RB Leipzig, with United needing a draw to qualify for the last-16.

“It is unfortunate… sometimes you get muscle injuries. We lost Anthony and Edinson,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports. “There’s a game already on Tuesday. But It’ll probably be (like this) this season.

“Some games we have to do without players and I’m glad we’ve got the substitutions we have.”

After Tomas Soucek put West Ham ahead, goals from Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and substitute Marcus Rashford helped United clinch a fifth consecutive away victory in the league this season.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

Dias opened the scoring with a first-half header, before Michail Antonio levelled just before the break with the first goal City have conceded at the Etihad Stadium since December.

Fourth-placed West Ham were proving to be hard to break down but Stones joined his central defensive partner Dias on the scoresheet to put City back in the lead 22 minutes from time.

The Hammers were unable to respond as City moved 13 points clear of Manchester United and Leicester City, extending their unbeaten run to 27 matches.

200 – In what was just his 273rd game in charge of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola picked up his 200th victory with the Citizens – the fewest games needed by a manager of an English top-flight side to reach 200 wins in all competitions. Legacy. pic.twitter.com/rv5BkgoIio

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 27, 2021

Ederson was called into action to block an Antonio header in an encouraging start from the well-drilled Hammers, operating with three centre-backs, but City were in front with their first attempt on the half-hour mark.

Kevin De Bruyne was the architect, delivering a majestic pinpoint left-footed cross for an unmarked Dias to nod beyond Darren Randolph, who until then had been untroubled after stepping in to replace the injured Lukasz Fabianski.

Antonio scuffed a shot against the outside of the post, although Jesse Lingard appeared to be offside, but the Hammers striker equalised two minutes before the break.

Lingard failed to get a clean contact on a cutback from the marauding Vladimir Coufal, but the on-loan Manchester United midfielder’s shot was turned in by the alert Antonio.

Randolph continued despite picking up an injury while taking a goal kick, and the Hammers breathed a sigh of relief when there was no City player on hand to turn in De Bruyne’s cross at the end of a surging run down the left.

Gabriel Jesus replaced a rusty Sergio Aguero, starved of service in his first start since October, with an hour played, but it was another centre-back who put Pep Guardiola’s men back in front.

Riyad Mahrez teased Ben Johnson in the penalty area and picked out Stones, who drilled clinically beyond Randolph after 68 minutes.

Visiting boss David Moyes introduced Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma in a bid to salvage a point, which Issa Diop failed to do when he headed wide from close range right at the end as City took another stride towards regaining the title.

LONDON: West Ham United forward Michail Antonio will miss their Premier League clash with Manchester United on Saturday with a hamstring injury, manager David Moyes said on Friday.

Antonio returned to action from a similar problem to play in West Ham’s 2-1 home victory over Aston Villa on Monday and Moyes said the 30-year-old’s latest injury was a fresh issue.

“We’re not sure how long he’ll be. Hopefully it’s not too bad, but he won’t be available for Saturday’s game,” Moyes told a news conference.

“He’s still having a bit of a problem with his hamstring. It’s not the same injury. We think it’s something slightly different, which is the good news, so we’re hoping he won’t be too long.”

Moyes said that Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko had recovered from COVID-19 and was back in training ahead of what could be his first league appearance since October.

“… Like anybody else who has had the virus, it goes in different stages and you’re not sure how quickly they can recover as they recover at different speeds,” Moyes said.

“Some are quick and some might take a little bit longer, but the good news is he’s back, he’s fit, he’s healthy and he’s been training the last couple of days.”

West Ham are fifth in the table with 17 points from 10 games while Manchester United are a point and four places below them, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have a game in hand.