Manchester City travel to West Ham United for their next Premier League game on Saturday afternoon and the league leaders will want to extend their lead at the top of the table with a victory.
Manchester City have won their first four league matches of the season and they will be overwhelming favourites heading into this game as well. Meanwhile, West Ham have made an impressive start to the Premier League campaign as well and they are just two points adrift of the leaders.
David Moyes’ men have won three of their first four league matches and they have drawn the other. They will look to pull off a morale-boosting result at home and judging by their form so far, Manchester City cannot afford to take them lightly.
Team News and Tactics
West Ham
The Hammers will have a fully fit squad to choose from. They are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Alphonse Areola in goal.
Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri will be the full-backs here and they will look to protect the central defence and provide some width to the side. Kurt Zouma will start at the heart of the defence alongside Nayef Aguerd.
Edson Alvarez is set to start as the defensive midfielder in the pivot alongside James Ward-Prowse. While the Mexican will look to break up the opposition attacks, Ward-Prowse will look to create opportunities for his teammates.
Lucas Paqueta will be deployed as the central attacking midfielder here and he will look to add creativity and drive to the midfield. Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma will be deployed as the wingers.
Michail Antonio is set to lead the line for the home side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Alvarez, Ward-Prowse; Bowen, Paqueta, Benrahma; Antonio
Manchester City
The visitors will be without Kevin De Bruyne who is ruled out with a thigh injury. The Belgian is unlikely to return before January. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is likely to be ruled out with a back injury as well.
John Stones and Jack Grealish are sidelined with thigh injuries and they are likely to miss out at the weekend as well.
Manchester City are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as well.
Ederson Moraes will continue in goal for them. Kyle Walker and Josco Gvardiol will be deployed as the full-backs and they will look to help out offensively apart from their defensive duties.
Ruben Dias will start alongside Manuel Akanji at the heart of the defence.
Rodri is likely to partner with summer signing Matheus Nunes in the midfield pivot. The Spanish midfielder will look to break up the opposition attacks while Nunes adds creativity and drive to the side.
Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden are likely to be deployed as inverted attacking midfielders who will drift out wide from time to time in order to add creativity and width to the side.
Julian Alvarez will start as the central attacking midfielder here with Erling Haaland leading the line for the defending champions.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Rodri, Nunes; Silva, Alvarez, Foden; Haaland
Key Stats
- Manchester City have won 16 of their last 18 matches (Premier League).
- Manchester City have been winning at both half-time and full-time in 10 of their last 14 matches (Premier League).
- Manchester City have scored at least 2 goals in 16 of their last 19 matches against West Ham in all competitions.
- West Ham haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last 13 matches.
Key Player
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland was born to score goals ⚽ pic.twitter.com/pTuEU4LfDZ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 13, 2023
The Norwegian has scored 6 goals in 4 Premier League matches so far and he has picked up an assist as well. The 23-year-old is one of the best players in the world and he will look to punish the West Ham defence here.
He managed to score a hat trick in his last Premier League outing against Fulham and he will hope to extend his rich vein of form by getting on the score sheet against West Ham as well.
Prediction
West Ham 1-2 Manchester City
Manchester City are undoubtedly the better team here and they will be expected to pick up all three points.
That said, West Ham are no pushovers and they are likely to give the defending champions a run for their money. This is likely to be a close contest between the two teams but Manchester City have enough firepower at their disposal to emerge victorious in the end.
A narrow 2-1 win for the away side is on the cards here.
I will be happy to see Machester City to win…