Defending Champions Manchester City will host West Ham at the Etihad Stadium in this crucial game. Manchester City vs West Ham United preview you will get here. Pep Guardiola’s men are huge favorites to win the Premier League again after Arsenal and Liverpool surprisingly lost to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace respectively in April.
As of the time of writing this article, the Cityzens are top of the Premier League log, with 73 points from 32 games. On the other hand, West Ham United have amassed 48 points from 33 games and are looking to finish in one of the European spots at the end of the season.
Manchester City executed their summer transfer maneuvers with precision, characteristic of Pep Guardiola’s tenure. Following a triumphant season resulting in a treble, City underwent a restructuring. Guardiola offloaded players like Cole Palmer to Chelsea, Riyad Mahrez to Al Ahli, Aymeric Laporte to Al Nassr, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo to Barcelona, Benjamin Mendy to Lorient.
Manchester City vs West Ham United preview
In turn, he bolstered the squad with acquisitions such as Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig, Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jeremy Doku from Stade Rennes, and Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea. These signings have swiftly assumed pivotal roles, with Doku wreaking havoc on the left of City’s attack and Gvardiol securing a regular place in Manchester City’s defense.
Manchester City started the season well, defeating Burnley in the first game of the season thanks to goals from Haaland and Rodri. Then, they won their next five games against Newcastle, Sheffield United, Fulham, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest. However, their run was halted by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Afterwards, the champions dipped in form, suffering losses to Arsenal and Aston Villa and drawing against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham in their last seven games. However, they have slowly managed to close the gap with a run of three consecutive wins and some unimpressive results from the teams above them on the log. The other challengers -Arsenal and Liverpool – faltered once again and Guardiola’s men now sit top of the log with six games to go.
Meanwhile, West Ham United’s performance in the Premier League this season has been relatively decent. The Hammers have managed to grind out some key results here and there but have been unable to gather any real momentum. Despite some departures last summer, the new arrivals have been able to prove their worth in the team.
Specifically, the Hammers let go of their star player and last season’s club captain who led them to European glory in the Europa League last term, Declan Rice. The Englishman departed for North London’s resurgent big boys Arsenal FC in a club-record transfer deal. Other exits include misfiring striker Gianluca Scamacca and Nikola Vlasic who joined Italian Serie A club sides Atalanta and Torino respectively, Congolese left-back Arthur Masuaku left for Turkish side Besiktas and Manuel Lanzini leaving for River Plate on a free transfer.
In a bit to stay competitive after last season’s triumph in Europe, coach David Moyes made several additions to his squad, securing the services of exciting talents Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez from Ajax Amsterdam, English set-piece specialist James Ward-Prowse from championship side Southampton, and Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from Bundesliga side VFB Stuttgart. In all, all of the additions have been an instant hit and helping the Hammers challenge on all fronts this campaign.
West Ham has been a stable side in the Premier League for some seasons now and has been regular in European competitions too. However, their recent performances in the Premier League have not been encouraging and they were also knocked out of the Europa League by Bayer Leverkusen in the quarterfinals. So the final few games in this campaign are very crucial and they will aim to secure one of the European slots at the end of the season.
Match tickets
The epic match at Etihad Stadium in Manchester kicks off on Sunday, 19th of May 2024 at 15:00 UK Time.
The magnificent 53,400-capacity stadium is the place to be for this clash between the champions and the Hammers chasing one of the continental slots.
Getting Manchester City vs West Ham United tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Manchester City have been without their talisman Kevin De Bruyne for most of the season because of a hamstring, but he returned with a bang by playing a crucial role in the comeback win over Newcastle United. Apart from the Belgian, Ederson remains the only major absentee for the Citizens in recent weeks and could be back before this trip to West London.
Manchester City XI: Ortega, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Haaland
Manager David Moyes has a relatively healthy squad with only Alphonse Areola the major absentee at this time but he is expected to be available for this game. Jarrod Bowen and Kalvin Phillips picked up slight knocks recently but should be available for this home fixture. Meanwhile, midfielder Luca Paqueta, who has since returned from his injury lay-off, will be keen to play an influential role in this game.
West Ham United XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Álvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Lucas Paquetá; Bowen.
Prediction
This season, Manchester City started the season slowly, but they have recovered greatly. With the return of De Bruyne, the team could be functioning at its fullest once again. Their home advantage will also come into play in the game.
West Ham, on the other hand, are condemned to start getting wins if they want to keep moving up the log. So, they need a strong performance against a side they have not beaten in the Premier League since 2015.
Meanwhile, if Manchester City are in their element, West Ham United would be lucky to walk away with a point.
Manchester City 3-1 West Ham United
