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West Ham logo
Premier League | Gameweek 37
May 15, 2022 at 2pm UK
London Stadium
Manchester City logo

West Ham
2 - 2
Man City

Bowen (24', 45')
Bowen (32'), Coufal (58'), Fabianski (60')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Grealish (49'), Coufal (69' og.)
Jesus (90+4')

Preview: West Ham United vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Premier League clash between West Ham United and Manchester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Seeking to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League table, Manchester City travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

The Citizens thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-1 in midweek, while David Moyes's side also won by a four-goal margin against Norwich City last time out.


Match preview

West Ham United manager David Moyes on April 7, 2022© Reuters

The Europa League dream may be over for West Ham and Moyes, but the Hammers boss witnessed his side respond to their continental heartache in perfect fashion during their trip to Carrow Road - putting four unanswered goals past an already-relegated Norwich City side.

Said Benrahma bagged a brace for himself alongside efforts from Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio in a convincing Hammers success - one which has seen them keep their top-six hopes alive heading into the final fortnight of the campaign.

With Manchester United not in action this weekend, seventh-placed West Ham can move level on points with the Red Devils with victory here, and their vastly superior goal difference would see them leapfrog Ralf Rangnick's side into the Europa League spots too.

Facing Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex on the final day is hardly a walk in the park for West Ham - Man United found that out the hard way - but ending a four-game losing run in all competitions was just what the doctor ordered before the visit of the champions.

Moyes will now be tasked with ending his side's four-game winless run at the London Stadium in all competitions, but the hosts have scored in all of their Premier League home games so far this season and may feel that attack is the best form of defence against opponents who will expect plenty of goalmouth action themselves.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne with the match ball on May 11, 2022© Reuters

Perhaps reminding Pep Guardiola that he does not need a traditional centre-forward to win the biggest titles, Kevin De Bruyne sent a strong message to new arrival Erling Braut Haaland with a phenomenal four-goal haul in a 5-1 thrashing of Wolves on Wednesday.

The Belgian has now followed in Georginio Wijnaldum and Frank Lampard's footsteps as one of only three midfielders to score four goals in a single Premier League game, and Raheem Sterling also had the simple job of tapping into an empty net late on as City's rampage continued.

While Liverpool prepare to battle Chelsea for FA Cup glory at Wembley, the reigning champions can extend their lead at the summit to six points and virtually wrap up the title with a win this weekend - breaking the 90-point barrier in the process once again.

A customary top-flight crown will not mask the frustration of another Champions League elimination, but it is now five Premier League wins on the bounce for Man City, who have triumphed in all five of those encounters by at least three goals - unsurprisingly a Premier League first.

West Ham did manage to end Man City's perennial reign of dominance in the EFL Cup earlier this term, but the champions have won 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Hammers in the Premier League, and the hosts would do well to take advantage of Guardiola's defensive crisis to disrupt that pattern here.

West Ham United Premier League form:
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W

West Ham United form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W

Manchester City Premier League form:
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Manchester City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W


Team News

Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte receives medical attention on May 11, 2022© Reuters

West Ham did not come out of their thrashing of Norwich unscathed by any means, as Benrahma, Craig Dawson and Antonio all had to be forced off with knocks at Carrow Road.

The hosts are reportedly optimistic about Dawson and Antonio's chances of being passed fit, but Benrahma will need further assessment, while Angelo Ogbonna remains out for the long term.

Ben Johnson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Nikola Vlasic are all on standby should Moyes be without any members of the trio, while Issa Diop should be fit enough to return to the matchday squad.

The hosts suffered their own defensive crisis a few weeks ago, and now it is Guardiola's turn to work around a raft of absentees, with Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias already out for the season.

The rearguard worries did not cease for City on Wednesday, as Aymeric Laporte and makeshift centre-back Fernandinho were both forced off with knee and hamstring issues respectively, so Guardiola will be severely limited at the back this week if the duo cannot recover quickly enough.

Nathan Ake's return from an ankle problem is nothing short of a blessing for City, and the Dutchman could find himself partnered by Rodri unless Guardiola takes a punt on CJ Egan-Riley or Luke Mbete.

The visitors' bountiful options further forward means that Guardiola can afford to drop Rodri slightly deeper, with Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus both primed to return to the attack.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Cancelo, Rodri, Ake, Zinchenko; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling


SM words green background

We say: West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City

West Ham's streak of scoring in every home game this season is highly unlikely to end against a ravaged City backline, although a pairing of Rodri and Ake is still far from easily breachable.

Putting games to bed and taking chances when they arrive has been the champions' forte all season long, though, and we can only picture Guardiola's merciless attackers steering their side ever closer to the Premier League crown with another goal-laden performance.



Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 72.73%. A draw had a probability of 16.7% and a win for West Ham United had a probability of 10.52%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-2 with a probability of 12.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.18%) and 0-3 (9.5%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.94%), while for a West Ham United win it was 1-0 (3.36%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 3.7% likelihood.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:data



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Game History

How you voted: West Ham vs Man City

West Ham United
16.9%
Draw
10.5%
Manchester City
72.6%
237
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Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte receives medical attention on May 11, 2022
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


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