West Ham vs Man City – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

The Hammers have won five of their last nine league matches, whilst City have won five of their last seven EPL fixtures. City have won seven straight clashes with West Ham by two or more goals.

West Ham Form

West Ham have won five of their last 11 league matches to give themselves a chance of survival. They won 2-1 at Tottenham in the last minute and beat Sunderland 3-1 at home. A 3-2 loss at Chelsea saw a 2-0 lead surrendered, before winning 2-0 at Burnley. A late goal conceded saw a 1-1 home draw vs Man Utd.

The Hammers won 1-0 at Burton Albion in an FA Cup tie before a 0-0 home draw vs Bournemouth with 3.27 xG produced. A 5-2 loss at Liverpool saw three set-piece goals conceded. They bounced back to win 1-0 at Fulham to move a point off safety. Their last match saw a win on penalties in the FA Cup after drawing 2-2 vs Brentford after extra time.

West Ham Team News

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has a lower back injury and is not set to play any part. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo made seven changes for the FA Cup match. He will recall Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf at fullback.

Crysencio Summerville will be back in the XI. He must decide whether to stick with the 4-4-2 formation from the win over Fulham, or revert to a 4-5-1 to be more solid.

West Ham Motivation

The Hammers sit 18^th in the league table but confidence has returned. There is real belief that they can stay up.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s team will play a mid-block and try to nick a win. A draw would also be a great result.

Man City Form

City sit seven points off Arsenal with a game in hand. They have won seven of their last nine matches, but their midweek defeat puts them on the verge of exiting the Champions League at the round-of-16 stage. A 2-1 home EPL win over Newcastle was followed by a 1-0 win at Leeds.

A shock 2-2 home draw vs Nottingham Forest was a blow in the title race. They won 3-1 at Newcastle in the FA Cup with a rotated XI as they put up 3.41 xG. In midweek, a dire first half performance led to a 3-0 defeat away to Real Madrid.

Man City Team News

Pep Guardiola is without Josko Gvardiol at back and both Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic in the midfield. Nico O’Reilly could return to the engine room after playing at left back in midweek.

City will surely ring the changes for this match. Rayan Cherki will return in midfield and Matheus Nunes is expected to be recalled at right back.

Man City Motivation

City have to give complete focus to this match. Any dropped points could all but end their title hopes.

Guardiola’s side are 3-0 down in the Champions League and can’t think about Tuesday’s second leg. All focus has to go on securing a win against West Ham.

Key Stats

• West Ham have won 5 of their last 11 league matches (4 draws)
• West Ham have lost their last 7 matches vs Man City by 2+ goals
• Man City have won 7 of their last 9 matches in all competitions
• Man City’s Antoine Semenyo has scored 11 goals in his last 20 appearances

Verdict

City need a response to their midweek collapse. They have a great record in this fixture and should win on the -1 handicap.

Best Bet: Man City win at 1.71

Alternate Bet: Man City win (-1 goal handicap) at 2.70

Goalscorer Tip: Antoine Semenyo to score anytime at 2.15