West Ham face a difficult test as they welcome Manchester City to the London Stadium to kick off Saturday’s run of Premier League action.
Victory will send West Ham up to third whilst Man City can leapfrog the Hammers and go third themselves with a win.
Team News
Michail Antonio is a doubt for West Ham with a tight hamstring and will face a late fitness test alongside Sebastien Haller who is struggling with a knock.
Man City could be without Nathan Ake after a tight groin kept the Dutch defender out of Wednesday’s Champions League win over Porto.
Aymeric Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne could return from muscle injuries but Fernandinho (leg) joins Benjamin Mendy (unspecified) and Gabriel Jesus (quad) on sidelines.
Stat Attack
- West Ham are winless in their last ten domestic matches against Manchester City in all competitions (D1, L9).
- Man City are unbeaten in their last six trips to the Hammers (W5, D1), keeping four clean sheets in that period.
- West Ham are yet to be awarded a penalty against Man City after 38 previous Premier League meetings between these two teams.
- City have kept clean sheets in their last four league games against West Ham (W4).
- No West Ham player has produced more shots on target than Michail Antonio’s eight attempts so far this season.
Prediction
West Ham can take heart from their spirited fightback to snatch a point at Tottenham last weekend but are going to have to be defensively on their game against a strong Man City team, who seem to be their bogey club in terms of results.
City however are in the middle of a hectic run of fixtures and have faced two tough games in the past week, which could offer the Hammers some hope if Pep Guardiola rings the changes although I can see City taking a comfortable win if De Bruyne returns here given his influence on the team.
Prediction: West Ham 1-3 Manchester City
Result: West Ham 1-1 Manchester City