West Ham United welcome Manchester City to London Stadium on Saturday, with the Hammers hoping for an unlikely victory to bolster their Premier League survival battle.
The Hammers suffered a thumping 3-0 thrashing in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in December and will hope for better fortunes this time around.
Recent results would also bolster their confidence, considering City are coming into this game on the back of a shocking 3-0 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid.
Match Preview
After putting together an impressive 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions, Pep Guardiola’s side were handed a harsh reality check with a 3-0 defeat to Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at Santiago Bernabeu.
Guardiola admitted after the match that the chances of staging a comeback in the second leg at the Etihad are slim. But they’re also far from impossible.
However, City must now turn their attention back to the Premier League title race, with another tricky fixture on the road coming up.
A 2-2 draw at home against Nottingham Forest just over a week ago did little to help their cause.
That shocking setback left City seven points behind leaders Arsenal, although the Gunners have played one game more.
However, if City are to reclaim the Premier League title in May, they can’t afford to drop any more points, particularly against relegation-battling teams.
They’ll also be hoping Arsenal stumble along the way, with the title firmly within their grasp. Saturday’s meeting with West Ham offers City a decent chance to return to winning ways.
City are unbeaten in their last 20 league matches against the East Londoners (W17, D3).
They’ve only enjoyed a longer unbeaten streak against Fulham (a current run of 22) and Newcastle United (also 22, between 2006 and 2018) in their league history.
Meanwhile, West Ham will hope to finally end their winless streak against City, and there may not be a better time to do so, with the Hammers staring into the abyss.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side secured a place in the FA Cup quarter-final last weekend after a dramatic 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Brentford.
Both sides couldn’t be separated after 120 minutes, with Jarrod Bowen and Igor Thiago cancelling each other out with a brace apiece in the 2-2 draw.
Having secured their spot in the FA Cup quarter-final for the first time in a decade, West Ham must now refocus on their Premier League survival battle.
Nuno’s side sit eighth in the table, level on points with Forest in 17th and separated only by goal difference. That means every result now carries enormous weight.
West Ham don’t have the best record against City, but recent performances have at least given supporters reason for belief.
The Hammers have collected 14 points from their last eight league games, including a 1-0 victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
That run of form ranks them seventh in the division over that period, and they’ll be hoping to win back-to-back league games for only the third time this season.
However, West Ham have never beaten City at the London Stadium in the Premier League in nine attempts (D2, L7) – only against Brighton & Hove Albion have they faced an opponent as often without winning at their own stadium (D7, L2).
Team News
West Ham will be without Crysencio Summerville, who has scored seven goals in his last 11 games across all competitions, due to a calf injury.
Oliver Scarles and Adama Traore will need to pass a late fitness test after picking up knocks against Brentford, while backup goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski remains sidelined.
Meanwhile, City will be without Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, and Rico Lewis.
West Ham United potential starting line-up:
(4-3-3): Mads Hermansen; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Axel Disasi, El Hadji Malick Diouf; Mateus Fernandes, Soungoutou Magassa, Tomas Soucek; Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Felipe, Valentin Castellanos.
Manchester City potential starting line-up:
(4-2-2-2): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Rayan Ait-Nouri; Rodri, Nico O’Reilly; Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki; Antoine Semenyo, Erling Braut Haaland
