Manchester City are looking for a much-needed victory in their first outing of the new year, taking on West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.

The Cityzens ended a five-game winless run against Leicester City last time out but looked far from convincing in their 2-0 triumph. Injuries and a lack of confidence continue to impact the reigning champions, who are searching for successive wins in any competition for the first time since the end of October.

The absence of Ruben Dias and Rodri will undoubtedly unnerve Saturday’s hosts, who have struggled defensively during the past few months, but back-to-back wins could act as a catalyst for Pep Guardiola’s side to attack the second half of the season.

Here is how City could line up against West Ham.

GK: Stefan Ortega – Ederson will be missing for Man City again as he recovers from a knee injury, with Ortega taking his place on Saturday. The German is an able deputy and will want a second successive shutout.

CB: Manuel Akanji – Man City’s recent defensive woes have not been the fault of Akanji, who has been consistent during a diffiicult period. Produced an important clearance off the line against Leicester and will relish the physical battle with Niclas Fullkrug this weekend.

CB: Nathan Ake – With John Stones and Dias missing, Ake’s significance is amplified. The Dutch defender should line up centrally in a hybrid and flexible back three, starting a third successive game since returning from injury.

CB: Josko Gvardiol – Gvardiol’s form has been alarming this season. The Croatian seems to be making notable errors every single week and even his goal threat at the other end can’t overshadow some consistently shaky displays.

DM: Rico Lewis – Lewis is likely to adopt his inverted right-back role on Saturday but will spend the bulk of the action in midfield.

DM: Mateo Kovacic – The midfielder has offered a decent impression of Rodri at times this term and was excellent at the King Power Stadium. City need some big performances from him until their talismanic Spanish midfielder returns from injury.

RM: Phil Foden – Still some way off the lofty standards he set for himself last season but Foden is always capable of serving up some magic. Drilled effort forced Man City’s first goal against Leicester last time out.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne – De Bruyne is yet to provide the earth-shattering performances of old since his return from injury. Maybe time is catching up with the exceptional Belgian, who is out of contract this summer.

CM: Bernardo Silva – Silva scored a fortuitous effort in City’s last Etihad outing and has the ability to feature in an array of functions across the midfield.

LM: Savinho – It took four months but Savinho finally got off the mark in English football at the King Power. A goal and assist capped the Brazilian’s best performance in a sky blue shirt but Guardiola has demanded even more from the energetic winger.

ST: Erling Haaland – Haaland’s four-game goal drought came to an end at Leicester, with the Norwegian scoring a composed header to seal the points. He’s still missing some big chances, however, and is underperforming his expected goals tally in the Premier League by almost three strikes.