Hello there and welcome to
Sports Mole's live text coverage of this evening's Premier League encounter between
West Ham United and
Manchester City at Upton Park. We should have some team news for you shortly.
You get the feeling that this could be an entertaining encounter between these sides today. West Ham are likely to be full of confidence following their 3-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago, while Man City have been somewhat shaky on their travels so far this season.
WEST HAM: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Rat, Tomkins, Reid; Noble, Morrison, Diame, Vaz Te, Downing, Nolan
MAN CITY: Hart; Richards, Garcia, Nastasic, Clichy; Nasri, Fernandinho, Toure, Silva; Aguero, Negredo
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has opted to stick with the same XI that defeated Spurs two weeks ago, meaning that Ravel Morrison keeps his place in the side.
In contrast,
Manuel Pellegrini has made five changes to his side with Micah Richards, Javi Garcia, Matija Nastasic, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri all coming in.
West Ham are sure to look at the Man City back four and fancy their chances this evening. There's definitely a lack of authority there with the absence of captain Vincent Kompany.
WEST HAM SUBS: Jarvis, Adrian, Taylor, O'Brien, J Cole, C Cole, Petric
MAN CITY SUBS: Zabaleta, Lescott, Milner, Dzeko, Kolarov, Pantilimon, Jovetic
Today's other Premier League fixtures are gradually coming to an end and we will bring you those full-time results as soon as they're in.
PREMIER LEAGUE FULL-TIME RESULTS:
Arsenal 4-1 Norwich City
Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff City
Everton 2-1 Hull City
Manchester United 1-1 Southampton
Stoke City 0-0 West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City 4-0 Sunderland
There was also a thrilling early kickoff in the Premier League today as Newcastle United and Liverpool played out a 2-2 draw at St James' Park.
As you can see from those results, there have been plenty of goals in the Premier League today. Here's hoping for a few more at Upton Park tonight.
Man City's away form this season has been patchy to say the least with just one point coming from their three matches so far on the road. However, West Ham's home form has been just as disappointing with one win and two defeats out of three.
RECENT FORM:
WEST HAM: LDLWLW
MAN CITY: WWWLLW
There is sure to be plenty of focus on Ravel Morrison tonight following his wondergoal against Spurs two weeks ago. For those who missed it/would love to see it again, here it is:
In terms of how the Premier League table is looking, Man City can move up into fourth place if they win tonight. West Ham can climb up to 10th place if they get the points.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD: Man City have the edge over West Ham when you look at the previous meetings between the sides, with the Blues winning 42 of the 92 encounters. Meanwhile, West Ham have 35 victories to their name.
This fixture ended 0-0 last season, while Man City earned a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium towards the end of the campaign.
Just under 10 minutes until this one gets underway. The players should be in the tunnel shortly.
Here come the players out onto the pitch at Upton Park.
Okay then, the pre-match rituals have been done and it will be West Ham to kick us off. Here we go!
Very little to separate the teams during the opening exchanges, but it's probably Man City who have the edge right now. The visitors have already whipped a couple of dangerous crosses into the box, but the home defence have stood firm.
West Ham's passing isn't looking in particularly good nick at the moment. They've given the ball away cheaply a few times, much to the annoyance of the home fans.
CHANCE! Better control from Negredo and Man City could well be in front. A ball is flicked over the defence by Silva, but his fellow Spaniard can only head straight at Jaaskelainen when a better touch would have given him the chance of a clean strike at goal.
West Ham are starting to get themselves into the game a bit more now. The hosts aren't playing with a recognised striker, instead they have a midfield five that is pushing up and staying back accordingly.
Both teams are seeing a fair share of the ball, but it's Man City who are looking the more dangerous while in possession. Silva especially looks up for it tonight.
WIDE! Diame has a wild crack at goal from about 30 yards for the hosts, only to see his effort sliced wide of Hart's post.
GOAL! WEST HAM 0-1 MAN CITY (AGUERO)
That is clinical from Man City as they take the lead through
Sergio Aguero. A defence-splitting ball played the Argentine in with just Jaaskelainen to beat, and he made no mistake slotting the ball past the goalkeeper.
CHANCE! That could easily have been 2-0 to Man City right there. West Ham failed to clear their lines from a cross, allowing Aguero to have a free shot on goal. However, the striker's fierce effort was straight at Jaaskelainen. The hosts are living dangerously at the moment.
West Ham's lack of a striker just isn't working for them at the moment. There's not target man to aim for. It's something that they'll probably want a look at because the Man City defence has not really been tested yet.
CHANCE! That's probably West Ham's best opportunity to equalise as Vaz Te tries to volley in Demel's cross but gets it all wrong and misses the ball. Meanwhile, Silva goes into the book for a clumsy challenge.
West Ham are really starting to apply some pressure on Man City now. As you would expect, they're playing fairly directly when they get in the opposition half, pumping balls into the penalty area.
CHANCE! Just like that, Man City nearly double their lead. Negredo works some space on the left side before rifling a low shot across the face of the goal. That missed by a matter of inches.
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce in out on the touchline with a miserable look on his face. It's actually his 59th birthday today, but it's not been a happy one so far.
Diame tries to burst through the Man City defence, only to be crowded out by about three opposition players. There was no one in support, and that's the problem with not having a recognised striker.
Something of a half chance for the visitors as Silva heads wide from Negredo's cross. Not the best effort on goal from the diminutive Spaniard.
SAVE! Good stop from Jaaskelainen to deny Toure. The Ivorian appeared from nowhere inside the box before hitting a powerful left-footed drive at goal. However, the veteran shotstopper was there to bat away the effort.
Two minutes added time.
HALF TIME: WEST HAM 0-1 MAN CITY
The half-time whistle goes and it's Man City who have a slender 1-0 lead thanks to Sergio Aguero's 15th-minute goal. The visitors are deservedly in front, but their advantage is only a narrow one as it stands.
This seems like a good time as any to bring you today's full-time results from the Premier League. Here they come...
PREMIER LEAGUE FULL-TIME RESULTS:
Arsenal 4-1 Norwich City
Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff City
Everton 2-1 Hull City
Manchester United 1-1 Southampton
Newcastle United 2-2 Liverpool
Stoke City 0-0 West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City 4-0 Sunderland
This game is finely balanced as we get closer to the second half. Man City might start to get a bit nervy if the score stays the same, while West Ham could well fancy their chances. However, the visitors certainly have it in them to get another couple of goals after the break.
The players are back out and it will be Man City to kick off this second half. Here we go!
It's been a fairly even opening to this second half, but we're yet to see any significant action in and around goal.
GOAL! WEST HAM 0-2 MAN CITY (AGUERO)
It's a great finish from Aguero, but that is one of the softest goals you'll see all weekend. Man City earn themselves a free kick on the left side which Silva takes. His cross finds Aguero, who is unmarked and heads past Jaaskelainen. It's a long way back for West Ham now.
Credit to West Ham, they're still battling away. It's surely only a matter of time before Sam Allardyce shakes things up though. Could we see the introduction of Carlton Cole following his return to the club.
CHANCE! Diame somehow finds a way through the Man City defence, but Hart is quick off his line to get the block in. The ball then bounces off Nolan before going over the crossbar. A glimmer of hope for the home side?
GOAL! WEST HAM 1-2 MAN CITY (VAZ TE)
That is a great goal by Ricard Vaz Te to get West Ham back into this match! Morrison does well to flick a ball over the top of the Man City defence, and Vaz Te is there to hit an overhead kick past Hart. Some finish. Game on.
OFF THE WOODWORK! Nearly a third goal for Man City as Negredo's powerful drive on the angle comes back off the underside of the crossbar before going away from the dangerzone. It's end-to-end stuff now!
YELLOW CARD: Clichy goes into the book for cynically pulling back Downing.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Two changes for West Ham as Joey O'Brien and Matt Jarvis replace Guy Demel and
Ricardo Vaz Te. Meanwhile, Alvaro Negredo comes off for Aleksandar Kolarov for Man City.
CHANCE! Nearly a hat-trick for Aguero, but Jaaskelainen does well to anticipate the shot and push it away just as it looked like it was creeping into the far corner.
Twenty minutes left of normal time and West Ham very much feel like they can get an equaliser.
The home side have been on top for the last 15 minutes, but Man City are just starting to show a bit more control. They're slowing the tempo down with some calm passing, making their opponents work hard to get possession.
SUBSTITUTION: Another change for Man City sees James Milner replace Samir Nasri. Just over 15 minutes left.
West Ham win themselves a corner, which gets cleared, before Downing's clever cross gets headed away by the Man City defence.
GOAL! WEST HAM 1-3 MAN CITY (SILVA)
That is a lovely goal from
David Silva, and you have to say that it's looking likely that Man City have won this. Aguero is picked out in the box before backheeling the ball into the path of Silva. The Spaniard keeps his cool with a touch to tee himself up and makes no mistake by hammering it past Jaaskelainen.
SUBSTITUTION: A final change for Man City sees Stevan Jovetic replace Sergio Aguero, while Mladen Petric takes the place of Kevin Nolan for West Ham.
Five minutes of normal time left and Man City are just running down the clock now.
PENALTY APPEAL! Man City want a penalty as Toure is hustled out of the ball by a couple of West Ham players, but the referee says play on. Rightly so, too.
Four minutes added time.
FULL TIME: WEST HAM 1-3 MAN CITY
The full-time whistle goes and Man City have their first away win of the season thanks to a 3-1 victory over West Ham. Sergio Aguero scored two of the visitors' goals, while David Silva added a third. That came after Ricardo Vaz Te had given the hosts some hope with a superb overhead kick.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. Thank you very much for your company, and we hope to see you again on Sports Mole soon.