Manchester City vs West Ham – Match preview and team news

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·4 Januari 2025

Manchester City vs West Ham – Match preview and team news

Manchester City commence 2025 with a Premier League clash against West Ham United.

Pep Guardiola’s side earned a much-needed three points last weekend with a 2-0 victory at Leicester City.

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Unlike previous weeks, every City player came away unscathed from last weekend’s action. Goalkeeper Ederson is more comfortable in training but still isn’t ready to feature and the game also comes too soon for Ruben Dias and John Stones.

Sights set on the Hammers ⚒️
– Jumat, 3 Januari 2025

Meanwhile, the other Spaniard in the dugout, Julen Lopetegui, will be looking for a reaction after his side were demolished 5-0 at home to Liverpool. However, the Hammers will have to compete without captain Jarrod Bowen who played with a fractured foot against the league leaders.

He joins Michail Antonio and Lukasz Fabianski on the sidelines as the goalkeeper follows the Premier League concussion protocols from his head injury on Boxing Day. There is some positive news for Loptegui with midfield pairing Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez back from suspension.

Manchester City vs West Ham – Match preview and team news

Form

Manchester City: LLLDW

City rediscovered the winning formula as they tasted victory for the first time in six games against Leicester City.

Summer signing Savinho recorded his first goal for the club before Erling Haaland doubled their advantage.

That was Manchester City’s first win on the road in nine attempts with their previous success coming against Wolves back in October.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping the new year offers a fresh start for City as they ended 2024 with only two wins in 14 outings.

West Ham: WDDWL

West Ham’s recent positivity came to an almighty halt last weekend at the hands of league leaders Liverpool. Arne Slot’s players humiliated the Hammers as they put five past them without reply.

Prior to that humbling result, West Ham were unbeaten in their last four games. Hard-fought draws with Bournemouth and Brighton occurred between important wins over Wolves and Southampton.

Overall, it has been a mediocre campaign for Julen Lopetegui’s outfit and at the halfway point of the league season they sit in 13th position.

Last Meeting: West Ham 1-3 Manchester City, Premier League, 31st August 2024

An Erling Haaland hat-trick helped Manchester City sink West Ham back in August.

The hosts were given an early warning as the City striker miscued his header over Alphonse Areola’s net. However, Haaland made no mistake minutes later.

A loose pass from Emerson allowed Bernardo Silva to slip in the former Borussia Dortmund striker who kept his composure to slot into the bottom corner.

Areola was then alert to keep out Kevin De Bruyne’s inventive attempt to catch out the Frenchman from an acute angle.

The early onslaught from Pep Guardiola’s team showed no signs of slowing down as De Bruyne struck the woodwork with Areola rooted to the spot.

Out of nowhere, West Ham equalised. Jarrod Bowen advanced into the area before drilling a dangerous cross into the six-yard box that Ruben Dias could only divert into his own net.

Shortly after, patient build-up from the visitors resulted in Haaland finding space in the box. Without hesitating, the marksman blasted a shot into the roof of the net to reclaim the advantage.

After half-time, the Hammers almost equalised again, but Mohammed Kudus could only smash the post following a brisk foray forward.

Haaland then cut through the West Ham defence again to seal the win. This time, he was found by Matheus Nunes before bearing down on goal and delicately dinking in his and City’s third.

Successive three-goal hauls for the Norwegian saw him take his tally for the league campaign to eight goals in just three matches.

Predicted Lineups

Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Silva, De Bruyne; McAtee, Savinho; Haaland

West Ham: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Soucek, Rodriguez; Kudus, Paqueta, Summerville, Fullkrug.

Who is the referee?

Michael Salisbury will be the match official. He will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Derek Eaton while Oli Langford will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Graham Scott and he will be assisted by Scott Ledger.