West Ham skipper Mark Noble has termed Manchester City the best ahead of the Hammers' pre-season friendly against the English champions in China.
Premier League side West Ham landed in China on Sunday as they are set to take part in the Premier League Asia Trophy, along with Manchester City, Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hammers kicked-off their pre-season campaign with a 3-2 victory against SCR Altach in Austria last week before heading to China.
West Ham will take on Premier League champions Manchester City on Wednesday, with the winner going into the final of the tournament, which will be held in Shanghai on 20th July. A match to decide third spot will also take place on the same day.
The London-based side's captain Noble has hailed their opponents for Wednesday as the best and believes that the match will help the Hammers prepare for their Premier League opener against the same opponents.
“It’s only our second game in pre-season so we’re still not fit and we need to get some minutes under our belts, so playing against the champions will help because they are really good – they always are!” Noble told West Ham's official website.
“We also play them in our first game of the Premier League season, so it gives us a little glimpse of Man City early on.
“What a fantastic team they are.
"They’ve had a lot of players away on international duty, so I don’t know what sort of squad they’ll bring, but they’ve got a fantastic squad.
"You want to test yourself against the best and they are the best.”
West Ham will be hoping to score a psychological advantage over Manchester City ahead of the league opener between the two teams.
