West Ham face Manchester City at London Stadium in a huge Premier League encounter.
Victory could take West Ham top but only if Tottenham and Liverpool both fail to win elsewhere, whilst Man City will stay top with a win even if briefly displaced by Jurgen Klopp’s Reds who play at lunchtime.
Team News
Vladimir Coufal is West Ham’s only doubt as he faces a late fitness test due to a knock.
Man City will be without Mateo Kovacic after he failed to feature for Croatia during the international break, due to a back injury which will keep him out of this match and their opening Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade.
John Stones (muscle) and Jack Grealish (quad) are doubts but Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) remains sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
West Ham host Man City at London Stadium in a 3pm BST kick-off on Saturday 16 September, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- West Ham are winless in their last 15 league meetings against Man City (D3, L12).
- Man City are unbeaten in their last eight league visits to West Ham (W5, D3).
- City’s Erling Haaland scored three goals in two appearances against Man City last season (W2).
- Jarrod Bowen has scored in three of West Ham’s four league games this season, albeit away from home.
- All five of Man City’s away goals in the Premier League this season have been scored by Haaland (3) and Rodri (2).
Prediction
Depsite their strong start to the season which saw they dominate Luton in their latest outing with a clinical pressing performance, West Ham’s defence has been quite leaky which is something that they need to shore up if they realistically to get anything from this game.
Man City meanwhile had a match of two halves against Fulham because they looked sluggish in the first half, yet somehow managed to flip into top gear in a ruthless second half display, which is typical of this team yet shows that there is a vulnerability to be gotten at.
Pep Guardiola though is back in the dugout here so I do expect City to be right on it from the get-go with little room for sloppiness, which could pose an issue for West Ham but they might snatch a draw if can dig deep defensively and are clinical up front.
Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Manchester City
Result: West Ham 1-3 Manchester City
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