Manager Pep Guardiola has named his starting line-up for Manchester City's huge Premier League clash against West Ham United at the London Stadium this afternoon.
City, who beat the Hammers 2-1 in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium back in November, will be looking to take a giant stride towards retaining the Premier League title after hammering Wolves 5-1 on Wednesday. The Blues know that a win this afternoon will leave them requiring just a point on the final day of the season, should Liverpool win at Southampton on Tuesday.
City enter this afternoon's clash three points clear at the summit, meaning their destiny is in their own hands. A victory will put them on the cusp of retaining their crown, whereas a draw or a defeat would swing the door back open for Liverpool to maintain their realistic hopes of wrestling the title back from them.
READ MORE: West Ham vs Man City LIVE
Guardiola, who watched his side bow out of the Carabao Cup at the London Stadium earlier this season, losing on penalties, has made three changes to the side that beat Wolves on Wednesday night. Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden have dropped out, meaning Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish have come in to form a new-look front-three.
Fortunately, both Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho have won their respective fitness battles and have been deemed fit enough to start. They will partner each other at centre-back, meaning Guardiola's tinkering has not been forced to a whole new level.
Having made three changes off the back of such an emphatic win, all eyes will be on City to see if those alternations prove beneficial, as they aim to take a giant stride towards retaining their crown. It is Laporte's inclusion and recovery from his knee problem that has attracted the most attention from City's fans in the immediate aftermath of the team news being confirmed.
Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what some of City's supporters have had to say in response to the Spaniard being fit enough to be included.
As you can see by the messages displayed in the tweets above, there is a feeling of relief amongst City's supporters that Laporte has won his fitness battle and been deemed strong enough to start. John Stones and Ruben Dias have already been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury, meaning the loss of Laporte would have been hugely damaging.
City starting line-up: Ederson; Cancelo, Fernandinho, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Jesus, Grealish.
City substitutes: Steffen, Ake, Sterling, Gundogan, Foden, Egan-Riley, Mbete, Palmer, Lavia.
This afternoon's clash at the London Stadium kicks-off at 2:00pm and you can follow all of the action live on our matchday blog by clicking here.
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