West Ham United are at the home of the defending champions but their second fixture in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign would have a lot riding on it.
Title-chasing Manchester City faces a struggling West Ham side, but both sides are desperate for points given their recent form.
The Citizens have done the double over the Hammers in the last two seasons and secured a 3-1 victory the last time that they locked horns thanks to an Erling Haaland hat-trick. They have now scored at least three times in each of their last four games against the Hammers.
Having lifted an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title, the Citizens came into this season with lots to look forward to and they were efficient if unspectacular in their first four games. Successive draws against Arsenal and Newcastle were followed by wins against Fulham, Wolves and Southampton, then their fateful trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup.
It came at the start of four daunting away matches in the space of 11 days before the November international break, and the Mancunians were pushed to the absolute limit. City went on to lose against Spurs, Bournemouth, Sporting Lisbon, Brighton, and Spurs again, the first time Guardiola suffered five successive defeats in his managerial career.
That was compounded by a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord when they collapsed in the final 15 minutes after going 3-nil up in the game.
Their alarming form has been characterised by an injury crisis and a loss of attacking potency as they are now eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. City have the abundance of quality to pick themselves back up, but whether it would be enough to make up for lost ground is another matter entirely.
It is going to take fewer points than it usually does to win the 2024/25 Premier League title, considering the relentless fixture schedule in all competitions. Hence, City will be keen to remain within touching distance of a fifth consecutive league title.
They must get on one of their trademark winning runs in the second half of the season, and beating West Ham will help to rebuild some belief.
The Hammers have enjoyed some fantastic achievements in recent times as they made remarkable strides to the top end of the Premier League standings. David Moyes took the Irons from the brink of a relegation battle and led them to a Europa Conference League triumph in 2023.
However, they elected not to renew Moyes’ contract with the aim of evolving into a more attacking team under Julen Lopetegui. The Spaniard was tasked with picking up where the former boss left off, but West Ham is enduring a difficult campaign.
The Irons were booed off the pitch after a goalless home draw against Everton to emphasize the ongoing disconnect between the fans’ expectations and the reality on the pitch.
However, they produced the perfect away performance as goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka secured a 2-0 victory over Newcastle to ease the pressure on Lopetegui.
West Ham are now 14th on the log with 15 points after 12 matches and their under-fire manager must continue to reduce the volatile atmosphere at the London Stadium. That can only be achieved by results and the emergence of a distinct playing style that would aid performances.
While Lopetegui is safe for now given the hefty compensation package required to sack him, his position is increasingly untenable and results could quickly change his position for bad or worse.
Hence, getting points at the home of the champions will be essential to mending his tense relationship with the West Ham faithful.
Pertinently, the team is beginning to show that they are adapting to Lopetegui’s playing style and that victory at St James’ Park could prove a catalyst for the rest of their season.
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Match Tickets
This Premier League matchday 20 fixture takes place on Saturday, 4 January 2025 with kick-off scheduled for 3 PM UK time. This promises to be a memorable occasion, with match tickets now available for sale on the website of each club and priority access is given to club members and season ticket holders.
The Etihad Stadium is the venue for this interesting matchup and over 52,000 seats are set to be sold out. Considering City’s poor run of form recently, the home fans will be sure to give their team maximum support and this could get eventful.
Away supporters who are keen to make this trip to Manchester may find tickets hard to purchase via official sources, so they can get their Man City vs West Ham tickets on a resale site. Meanwhile, regular matchgoing fans will also be pleased to reserve Man City tickets for any upcoming match this season.
Team News
City has had a hard time with fitness issues as John Stones and Mateo Kovacic are doubts while Rodri and Oscar Bobb remain long-term absentees for the Sky Blues.
On the other hand, Niclas Fullkrug is unavailable for West Ham with an Achilles injury at the time of writing.
Line-ups
Guardiola’s starting XI is likely to be determined by the fitness of his best players, and he will hope to have a healthy squad, save for Rodri who will not be back this season.
Without the Ballon d’Or winner, Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan have formed a decent partnership in the centre of midfield, and they will be needed to halt any West Ham counterattacks.
Man City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Savinho, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
Lopetegui has had to chop and change with different formations and combinations as he finds solutions to his team’s poor performances.
Nevertheless, Michail Antonio is likely to continue in the centre-forward role and provide a bullish presence for his team upfront while the supporting cast creates opportunities and finds space to score.
West Ham: Fabianski; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
Prediction
Success over Man City has been hard to come by for West Ham who have failed to win any of their last 17 league games against City since a 2-1 away victory in September 2015.
The Citizens will be confident of beating the Londoners but West Ham’s attackers could cause Man City some problems. Yet, it is easy to back the champions outscoring their opponents en route to a comfortable victory.
Man City 3-1 West Ham
