Manchester City will aim to clinch the Premier League title for a fourth successive season when they welcome West Ham United to the Etihad on Sunday.
The curtains will fall on a long-winding and action-packed 2023/24 Premier League season on Sunday, with all ten matches kicking off simultaneously. Manchester City will have the chance to win the title for the fourth successive season when they host West Ham United at the Etihad.
Manchester City fans might be somewhat unhappy with their team’s performance this season. The Citizens can only win two trophies, with their quadruple hopes going up in smoke again. However, the defending champions have their Premier League title hopes in their hands, and they will face Manchester United in the FA Cup final next week. So, it will still be a successful campaign if they win both trophies.
As for West Ham United, 2023/24 was a season where they showed some progress but also took a few steps back. The Hammers had the opportunity to qualify for European competition via the Premier League, ending the first half of the campaign in the sixth spot. However, the Hammers have won only four of their last 18 games to fall to ninth in the standings, and they will not move from there, irrespective of the result on Sunday.
In addition, their campaigns in the cup competitions did not last long, while they bowed out of the UEFA Europa League in the quarter-finals. All that has cost David Moyes his job, with Julen Lopetegui reportedly set to replace the Scotsman at the helm at the London Stadium.
The reverse fixture saw Manchester City come from a goal down to beat West Ham United 3-1, handing the Hammers their first defeat of the 2023/24 season. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against West Ham United on Sunday, the Manchester City manager might be bereft of the services of two first-team players.
Ederson Moraes has played his final game of the season after sustaining a fractured right eye socket earlier this week against Tottenham Hotspur. In addition, Guardiola is sweating over the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne (achilles), although the Belgian international should be available.
Stefan Ortega will deputise for Ederson, with Manchester City lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against West Ham United. The backline should feature Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, with the latter growing in stature in recent weeks. De Bruyne should be fit enough to reprise the no. 10 role, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden supporting him in the advanced areas. Finally, Erling Haaland will lead the line for the home side against West Ham.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
West Ham United
Unlike his counterpart in the Manchester City dugout, David Moyes does not have any new issues to deal with ahead of the trip to the Etihad. The West Ham United manager might be bereft of the services of three first-team players.
Moyes is sweating over the fitness of Konstantinos Mavropanos (knock) and Nayef Aguerd (ankle). The duo will face late fitness tests to determine their availability. However, Kalvin Phillips has played his final game of the 2023/24 season after picking up a calf injury, although he would have been ineligible to face his parent club.
Alphonse Areola will take his usual spot between the sticks, with West Ham United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Manchester City. The backline will feature Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, and Emerson Palmieri.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez in the double pivot. Mohammed Kudus will reprise the no. 10 role, with Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen being the two wide attackers. Finally, Michail Antonio will spearhead the West Ham attack on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez; Bowen, Kudus, Paqueta; Antonio
Key Stats
- Manchester City are unbeaten in 16 Premier League games against West Ham United (W13 D3). The Hammers have lost 15 of 17 top-flight visits to the Etihad Stadium, drawing one and winning the other.
- Manchester City are on a club-record run of 43 successive home games without defeat in all competitions (W36 D7). They are the only side yet to lose a Premier League home game this term, winning 13 and drawing five.
- West Ham United have lost their last two Premier League away games, conceding five times in each defeat. In addition, the Hammers have failed to keep a clean sheet in their 17 league outings, their worst run since they went 24 matches without a shutout in 2008.
- The Premier League title race has ended on the final day on nine previous occasions, with Manchester City emerging triumphant in the four most recent instances.
- David Moyes is winless in 15 games against Pep Guardiola in all competitions, drawing four and losing 11.
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
Goals win you games, and there is no better connoisseur of goalscoring in the Premier League than Erling Haaland. The objective for Manchester City on Sunday is simple: beat West Ham United, and you do not have to worry about Arsenal’s result against Everton. So, who better to get Manchester City the three points than Erling Haaland?
The Norwegian international might not have been at his best this season. But he is still cruising in the Golden Boot race. Haaland’s nearest competitor is five strikes behind him, and the Manchester City striker will look to put the cherry on top by breaching the 30-goal barrier for a second successive season.
Prediction
Manchester City 3-0 West Ham United
One just cannot stop a Pep Guardiola side at this stage of a season unless they have all their bearings. That is not the case at West Ham United, with David Moyes seemingly mentally checking out since the announcement of his impending departure from the London Stadium.
While West Ham will take the game to the defending champions, they will not have enough quality to trouble their visitors. So, we expect Manchester City to cruise to a 3-0 win on Sunday, becoming the first team in English top-flight history to win four successive league titles.
