Manchester City continue the defence of their Premier League title on Saturday when they travel to West Ham United.
The Cityzens have won their first two matches of 2024/25 at a canter, easing past Chelsea in their opener before demolishing newly-promoted Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium last weekend. As they search for a fifth successive English top flight title, they continue to look worryingly unstoppable.
It was a clash with the Irons that saw Man City clinch the title on the final day of last season and their record against the London outfit is pretty impressive. They haven’t tasted defeat to West Ham in the Premier League since 2015 and have won seven of the last ten battles in all competitions.
Julen Lopetegui is the man tasked with overcoming Pep Guardiola on the touchline, something he has only managed once in four past attempts. After a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in their league opener, spirits should be higher heading into Saturday’s match following a 2-0 triumph at Crystal Palace and 1-0 Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth.
Here is 90min’s guide to West Ham vs Man City.
West Ham vs Man City H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
How to watch West Ham vs Man City on TV and live stream
West Ham team news
West Ham are in the rare position of having no fitness concerns heading into Saturday’s clash, which is a much-needed boost when facing the champions.
Lopetegui welcomed Edson Alvarez back into the starting lineup in the Carabao Cup midweek, while summer signings Crysencio Summerville, Jean-Clair Todibo and Niclas Fullkrug got run-outs.
However, West Ham are likely to field a similar lineup to the one that beat Crystal Palace on the road last weekend.
West Ham predicted lineup vs Man City
West Ham predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio.
Man City team news
Man City have had to make do without linchpin Rodri for the opening two matches of the season and they will likely have to cope without the Euro 2024 winner in the capital. While he is closing in on a return following a hamstring strain, he may not recover in time for the West Ham clash.
Oscar Bobb is out for several months with a leg injury and Mateo Kovacic was withdrawn against Ipswich with a knock. However, the Croatian should feature against West Ham in some capacity. Phil Foden will return after missing last weekend’s 4-1 win with illness.
Erling Haaland has an excellent record in this fixture and will be searching for successive hat-tricks, while Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan both earned minutes from the bench last time out and could start.
Man City predicted lineup vs West Ham (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Kovacic; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland.
West Ham vs Man City score prediction
Man City have won their last two trips to the London Stadium comfortably, with Haaland starring in both victories. After his hat-trick last weekend, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him rack up a few more goals against a West Ham side that have looked open in defence.
West Ham’s attacking power may cause issues for Man City, who failed to keep a single clean sheet in pre-season and conceded to Ipswich last time out, but the champions thrive in these kinds of tricky fixtures and should earn a fairly routine victory in the capital.
