Manchester City vs West Ham United

Etihad Stadium is the venue as Manchester City and West Ham United go head-to-head in one of the standout Premier League fixtures this weekend.

Manchester City returned to winning ways after a four-game winless league streak (D2, L2) with a morale-boosting 2-0 triumph at Leicester City at the tail-end of 2024, reducing the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to four points. However, the situation at the Etihad, where Pep Guardiola’s men have only won one of their last five competitive matches (D2, L2), is far from idyllic. Indeed, Manchester City conceded a whopping ten goals in that period. On the bright side, the Citizens’ traditionally impeccable calendar year openers have seen them win 17 of their last 18 league games to open up a new year. Furthermore, they’ve been ruthless against upcoming rivals West Ham at home, racking up 14 wins across their last 15 top-flight H2Hs here (L1).

Meanwhile, West Ham’s long-standing struggles in this fixture stretch back to 2015, when they last defeated Man City in the Premier League. They’ve since gone 18 consecutive top-flight H2Hs without winning, highlighting the size of the task awaiting under-pressure boss Julen Lopetegui this weekend. A 5-0 demolition at the hands of Liverpool reignited the pressure on the Spaniard following the Hammers’ mini-revival (W2, D2), inflicting massive damage on their hopes of returning to the European qualification picture. Stranded in the Premier League’s lower reaches, West Ham leave London desperate to improve an evenly-balanced away league record this season (W3, D3, L3). Any hope of achieving that feat rests on the visitors’ ability to address their immense defensive woes after conceding a league-high 79 goals in 2024.