West Ham manager Sam Allardyce’s admits that Manchester City’s recent dreadful record on the road has surprised him.
Manchester City’s hopes of retaining their Premier League title lie in tatters after a run of form that has seen them collect just four wins out of their last 12 league fixtures.
Their form away from home has been a big cause for concern for Manchester City’s fans and their four back-to-back defeats on the road have contributed to them dropping down to fourth in the league table.
Allardyce admits that with the resources Manuel Pellegrini has to work with, he is surprised with the way Manchester City have capitulated on the road recently.
However, he feels Manchester City are not playing as poorly as their form suggests and were a little unlucky against Crystal Palace earlier this month.
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"I’m very surprised that Manchester City have lost four away games on the trot”, Allardyce said in a press conference, via his club's site.
“I think that’s a huge shock across the football world based on the amount of talent they have. Like ourselves, they can’t seem to find a way to win recently.
"I watched them against Crystal Palace and I thought they defended brilliantly after they scored but generally Manchester City are exceptionally good at breaking down defences.”
However, West Ham will play the reigning champions at the Etihad on Sunday and Allardyce is aware of their impressive record at home, where they have lost just twice this season.
“Hopefully we can test their nerve, at home they are usually very good so we know how tough it’ll be."
West Ham won their home fixture against Manchester City 2-1 in October last year.
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