West Ham United are at the end of an era. All the noise, the confusion, the uncertainty, the rigamarole… it's all coming to a close. David Moyes will lead the team out one last time and Julen Lopetegui will replace him during the summer.
The east London club are nailed on for a ninth-place Premier League finish and so will approach the ominous trip to the Etihad Stadium to face title-chasing Manchester City with a relieving sense of freedom.
Pep Guardiola's team will win the championship if they defeat West Ham, so the visitors will be up against it as their indomitable opponents chase down an unprecedented four successive Premier League title.
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Kalvin Phillips has been out injured for the past two matches and still has a calf strain ahead of his final matchday as a West Ham loanee, though he is ineligible to play against his parent club anyway.
Centre-backs Konstantinos Mavropanos and Nayef Aguerd could both return from respective injuries after missing West Ham's past four fixtures, but Moyes might consider handing Angelo Ogbonna one last starting berth as an Iron.
Why Moyes must start Angelo Ogbonna
Ogbonna is days away from his 36th birthday and is out of contract this summer, having completed 249 appearances ahead of what could be a fitting landmark to bow out to at 250 fixtures.
The veteran Italian defender recently spoke effusively about Moyes's impact on the Hammers outfit, calling it "a different club" that "became known around the world" following last year's stunning Europa Conference League triumph.
With Aguerd unlikely to be fully fit on Sunday – if at all – it seems a suitable decision to unleash Ogbonna for the fifth successive Premier League fixture, given the star's left-footed preference.
West Ham have already finished ninth in the final standings. Their top-half finish is not in jeopardy, nor are they in contention to steal a last-gasp place in a European-qualifying spot.
Moyes might be urged to erect his sturdiest defensive axis against the indomitable Premier League giants but can he not muster up his poetic license at this final matchweek? Is Ogbonna not deserving of a curtain call after years of service that have led him to be regarded as a "superb" member of the Irons progress over the past years, as was said by The Athletic's Roshane Thomas last year?
Ogbonna is not the only star set to bow out, with Lucas Paqueta widely expected to leave the club this summer. Funnily, it is Man City that are the favourites to sign the Brazilian playmaker and bring him to the Etihad.
The creative phenom will be eager to put in a show on his unofficial audition and thus Moyes must play him from the outset, and while Ogbonna's situation edges more toward sentiment, he has put in some committed performances recently and will be confident that he can play his part.
23/24
11
0
22/23
16
0
21/22
11
1
20/21
28
3
19/20
31
2
18/19
24
1
17/18
32
1
16/17
20
0
15/16
28
0
And from an analytical, more pertinent perspective in regard to the football on the field, Ogbonna still boasts some of the quality that saw him ply his trade at the heart of the Hammers backline for so many years, completing 80% of his passes and winning 75% of his duels this season, as per Sofascore.
Moreover, he ranks among the top 12% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for blocks per 90, as per FBref, something that could be most important against the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Aguerd and Mavropanos have hardly proved themselves unerring titans at the back this season and Ogbonna must now be handed this final opportunity to put in a shift for the Hammers.
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