Whisper it quietly, but West Ham United may well be poised for further success this season after such solid work under David Moyes' stewardship over the past several years.
Declan Rice? Sold, you say? No problem. The highly-coveted England international indeed joined title-chasing Arsenal in a £105m transfer in July, ending a career with the Hammers that had seen him ascend from the club academy and serve as the midfield centrepiece for a prosperous period in their distinguished history, winning the Europa Conference League last season and sustaining a spot in European competition for three years now.
Rice is unquestionably brilliant, having already been lauded for his "outstanding" start to life at the Emirates Stadium by prominent journalist Henry Winter, but Moyes looks to have successfully replaced the midfield machine despite a slow start to the summer transfer window, suffusing the funds from his sale across the squad.
Mohammed Kudus
£38m
Edson Alvarez
£35m
James Ward-Prowse
£30m
Konstantinos Mavropanos
£17m
Sean Moore
N/A
Often teams can fail when replacing such a focal point with a spread of replacements, Tottenham Hotspur's 'magnificent seven' is the salient example, failing to effectively replace Gareth Bale, while Liverpool initially fell by the wayside after transferring Luis Suarez to Barcelona for £75m, replacing him with Mario Balotelli, Divock Origi and Rickie Lambert.
How are West Ham playing?
West Ham have clicked into gear instantaneously this season, winning three successive matches in the Premier League – including victories over Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion – after drawing against Bournemouth on the south coast to commence the term.
James Ward-Prowse has been resounding thus far, with his technical ability positively glowing, scoring one goal and supplying three assists from just three games since moving from relegated Southampton.
BBC journalist Jonty Colman also said: "Edson Alvarez deserves so much praise for how he orchestrated that move, looking to be a very shrewd signing", waxing lyrical over the holding midfielder signed from Ajax to fill the void left by Rice's departure, something he has done superlatively thus far.
The Irons have demonstrated their fortitude already this season, but with a match looming against Manchester City, last season's Premier League champions and treble winners, the toughest test yet will be a true gauge of how Moyes' men can hold up against the creme-de-la-creme.
The 3-1 victory over Brighton at the Amex Stadium last time out does demonstrate how West Ham boast the blueprint to inhibit an outfit such as Manchester City, who are probably the best team in the world regarding ball retention.
That being said, the Seagulls have completed 2,471 passes in the top-flight this season, a tally only City and Chelsea better, with Roberto De Zerbi touted as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola given his tactical implementation.
Despite this, Moyes crafted a perfect display of counter-attacking football on the south coast, winning comfortably despite only yielding 22% of possession.
Noted for his side's prowess on the break, United's Scottish manager will be confident that City's trip to the London Stadium will not be auspicious, utilising the likes of Jarrod Bowen, summer signing Mohammed Kudus and powerful forward Michail Antonio to great effect.
For this to work, however, the defence will need to be on their A-game; negating the threat of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and co is no easy task, but there's a dynamic defender in east London who might be perfect against Guardiola's imperious men.
How good is Konstantinos Mavropanos?
No, not Kurt Zouma. Though the Frenchman – who has captained West Ham across all four outings this season, scoring against Luton Town last time out – has been fantastic so far this season and will certainly be among the first names on the team-sheet.
The forthcoming fixture presents the perfect opportunity for Konstantinos Mavropanos to reannounce himself to English football, having been sold to German side Stuttgart by Arsenal on an initial loan deal in 2021, making the move permanent for roughly £5m.
Mavropanos would make 89 appearances for his German side, scoring eight goals, with the 25-year-old establishing himself as a forward-thinking defender and a "gladiator" – as praised by former boss Pellegrino Matarazzo.
Completing a £19m transfer to West Ham this summer, the Greek titan's particular set of skills would be ideal to stifle the Citizen threat, with his technicality and dynamism setting him apart from the lion's share of centre-back talent across Europe.
As per FBref, the £50k-per-week ace ranks among the top 8% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 6% for shot-creating actions, the top 11% for progressive passes, the top 8% for progressive carries, the top 10% for successful take-ons, the top 1% for interceptions and the top 3% for aerial wins per 90.
This exhaustive list of quality is a remarkable spread, highlighting his physicality, ball-playing skills and creativity in possession – kind of the embodiment of a Guardiola centre-back, funnily.
But why might the 6 foot 3 brute be the key against the champions? Well, given that West Ham are going to be spending little time on the ball this afternoon, a defensive component capable of instigating offensive transitions will be paramount to that counter-attacking style.
Zouma is a very good defender, but ranks among the bottom 1% of centre-halves for progressive passes and the bottom 3% for progressive carries per 90, and this marriage of styles could pay dividends – after all, Mavropanos was signed for a reason.
To say Man City have a discernible weakness is arguable, such is their might in the Premier League, but they are capable of being hindered, and Mavropanos, who is a relentless interceptor and dominant in the air, remember, can prove to be a rock at the back and the distributor to the likes of Ward-Prowse, who may well serve as the conduit between the thirds at either end of the pitch.
It won't be easy; the champions have won all four matches so far this season and Haaland is warming up nicely, just the hat-trick in his last match against Fulham to take his seasonal tally to six from four league matches.
But Mavropanos could be the new weapon for Moyes' outfit, and there is every chance that his inclusion could be a definitive factor in West Ham's hopes of preserving their unbeaten start to the season.