West Ham United vs Manchester City

Defending Premier League champions Manchester City head to the London Stadium to encounter West Ham United in one of the most exciting fixtures this weekend.

Julen Lopetegui’s managerial stint at West Ham started with a whimper rather than a bang as Aston Villa triumphed 2-1 on this ground on day one, casting a shadow on the Spaniard’s already questionable credentials. However, the ex-Wolverhampton boss avenged that disappointing result with a morale-boosting 2-0 win against fellow London rivals Crystal Palace last weekend before squeaking past Bournemouth 1-0 in midweek League Cup action. His attention now turns to ending West Ham’s humiliating 17-match winless run against perennial Premier League champions Manchester City (D3, L14), during which they conceded a staggering 42 goals. Back-to-back two-goal margin defeats in London are part of that underwhelming run, with 27 of the 42 goals they allowed in the abovementioned 17 matches coming at this stadium!

After lifting an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last term, Manchester City have shown no signs of slowing down at the start of the new campaign, dispatching Chelsea and Ipswich Town via an aggregate score of 6-1. Delivering action from the get-go, Pep Guardiola’s high-flyers have found the net inside the opening 20 minutes, highlighting the potential for a quick-fire start. Those impressive game entries helped Man City extend their outstanding unbeaten run in Premier League matches to 21 (W18, D3) since the turn of 2024. Buoyed by their longest-ever unbeaten streak to start a calendar year, the Citizens take this trip confident of stretching their scintillating 18-game undefeated run across all competitions (W16, D2). It’s also worth mentioning that they’ve won their last five away games without conceding.