Seeking to take advantage of one of their precious games in hand, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City welcome West Ham United to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Citizens currently sit second in the table, while the Hammers are languishing in 15th place and remain in danger of relegation.
Match preview
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Another game and another record broken by Erling Braut Haaland who scored his 50th goal of the season to help Man City beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage on Sunday, becoming the first English top-flight player to reach half a century of goals across all competitions in 92 years.
City's Norwegian No.9 now has 34 Premier League goals to his name and is just one goal away from breaking the all-time scoring record for a single season in the division which is currently held by both Andy Cole and Alan Shearer (34).
Haaland's penalty inside the opening three minutes was somewhat overshadowed by the stunning strike from Julian Alvarez that turned out to be the match-winner for the Citizens, extending their winning run in the Premier League to eight matches and moving them above title rivals Arsenal to the top of the table for the first time in 72 days.
Pep Guardiola's side – who have since slipped to second, albeit with two games in hand, following Arsenal's win over Chelsea on Tuesday – have been unstoppable of late on all fronts, particularly in the Premier League, although defensive frailties have been evident in the last few months having kept only two clean sheets in their last 12 top-flight matches. Overall, the Citizens have only kept a clean sheet in 31% of their league fixtures (10 out of 32 games) so far this season.
Nevertheless, Man City's exceptional form in front of goal has helped them to outscore opponents on a consistent basis and they will be confident of securing another three points on Wednesday versus a West Ham side against whom they are unbeaten in 14 top-flight matches, winning 11 in the process including a 2-0 success at the London Stadium back in August.
The Citizens, who have won their last six meetings with the Hammers at the Etihad, currently boast the best home record in the Premier League having accumulated 43 points from a possible 48 available, while they have won each of their last 24 top-flight games played on a Wednesday – the longest winning run by any team on a specific day in the division's history.
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Less than a week after securing a confidence-boosting 4-0 victory away against Bournemouth, West Ham are back down in the dumps following back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
A 2-1 home loss to Liverpool last Wednesday – a game in which manager David Moyes was left frustrated and "disrespected" by VAR – was followed by a 4-3 defeat away to Crystal Palace last Saturday, with goals from Tomas Soucek, Michail Antonio and Nayef Aguerd to no avail.
West Ham were ahead in both games against Liverpool and Palace but came away empty handed, and they remain embroiled in a relegation scrap heading into the final six games of the Premier League campaign as they sit five points above the bottom three.
Moyes and co now embark on a challenging and important period in their season, with Wednesday's trip to Man City followed by a home clash with Manchester United next weekend and then the first leg off their Europa Conference League semi-final at home to AZ Alkmaar in just over a weeks' time.
Returning to winning ways on Wednesday will be a tall order for the Hammers considering that they have picked up just four points from their last 16 Premier League encounters with Man City – their only victory in this period was at the Etihad Stadium, though, with goals from Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho securing a 2-1 win in September 2015.
Team News
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Man City defender Nathan Ake is in contention to return to the matchday squad on Wednesday after recovering from a hamstring injury, but Kevin De Bruyne - who missed the win at Fulham with an unspecified injury - is yet to take part in training and is a doubt for the visit of West Ham.
Manuel Akanji has admirably filled in as a makeshift left-back in the last two games in the absence of Ake and he could continue in that role alongside fellow defenders Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias if City's No.6 is not fit to start.
Alvarez was selected to start in De Bruyne's place versus Fulham and his impressive performance could be rewarded with another start in attack with Haaland, while Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva are set to compete for a place on the right flank.
As for West Ham, Kurt Zouma was withdrawn in the first half of the defeat at Palace after twisting his ankle while attempting to block a shot, and Moyes has revealed that the centre-back could be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks.
Gianluca Scamacca is the only other absentee for the Hammers after undergoing knee surgery, so Michail Antonio and Danny Ings will continue to battle for a centre-forward spot.
The likely absence of Zouma could see Angelo Ogbonna return to the first XI to start with Nayef Aguerd, and Thilo Kehrer could also be brought in at centre-back if Moyes decides to select a back three or back five.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Gundogan; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Kehrer, Aguerd, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice, Paqueta; Bowen, Antonio
We say: Manchester City 4-1 West Ham United
While the Premier League has built a reputation for its unpredictability, it is difficult to back anything other than a Man City victory on Wednesday considering their relentless run of form.
West Ham will fancy their chances of finding the net and causing a few problems on the break, but they will likely struggle to keep a rampant Citizens attack quiet at the other end at the Etihad Stadium.
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