Reigning champions Manchester City host West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups, as well as a prediction alongside our preview.
Manchester City vs West Ham Preview
Fresh off the back of recording their first win in six matches across all competitions, Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side welcome West Ham to the Etihad in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Cityzens had drawn with Crystal Palace and Everton and lost to Juventus, Manchester United and Aston Villa in five successive matches, but ended that poor run of form with a 2-0 win over struggling Leicester City last Sunday.
Goals came courtesy of Savinho and Erling Haaland, with the former netting his first in sky blue colours, while the latter notched his 14th league goal of the campaign, ending a four game goalless run in the meantime.
City now find themselves in sixth place heading into Gameweek 20, a whopping 14 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, eight points behind Arsenal, six behind Nottingham Forest, four behind Chelsea and one behind Newcastle.
As for the Hammers, they are eight points adrift of the reigning English champions in 13th place, eight points clear of the relegation zone, and they come into this one having suffered a dreadful 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool last time out.
Prior to that loss, Julen Lopetegui‘s side had enjoyed a four game unbeaten run in the league, narrowly beating Wolves and Southampton while drawing against Bournemouth and Brighton.
Saturday’s clash will be the second time that City and West Ham have met this term, with August’s meeting at the London Stadium ending 3-1 in favour of Guardiola’s side. In fact, that has been the exact scoreline in each of their last three meetings, all in favour of the Cityzens, contributing to City’s five game winning run over the Hammers since 2022.
Manchester City Team News
The Cityzens remain without long-term absentees Rodri (knee) and Oscar Bobb (leg), while defensive duo Ruben Dias (calf) and John Stones (ankle) are expected to miss out due to their respective injury concerns.
Ederson and Matheus Nunes are also doubts, with the pair missing out on the trip to Leicester last weekend.
West Ham Team News
The Hammers, meanwhile, are without Michail Antonio after his involvement in a road traffic collision in early December, as well as Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (head).
Jarrod Bowen (knock) is also a doubt after being forced off in the Liverpool defeat last time out.
In more positive news, Lopetegui is able to welcome back midfield duo Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez after the pair served a one-match suspension on Sunday.
Manchester City vs West Ham Predicted Lineups
Manchester City Predicted Lineup:
Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Silva, Savinho; Haaland
West Ham Predicted Lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soucek; Kudus, Soler, Paqueta; Fullkrug
Manchester City vs West Ham Prediction
Unsurprisingly, given their results last time out, as well as City’s strong record against West Ham in recent seasons, the UK’s best football betting sites see the hosts as clear favourites to prevail at the Etihad on Saturday.
The Cityzens have struggled since the end of October, but we believe that the win over Leicester could be the catalyst in turning their fortunes around, and so, we expect the champions to claim a comfortable victory in this one.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 West Ham
