Raheem Sterling will be hoping to start his third successive game for Manchester City when they welcome West Ham United to the Etihad Stadium for their Premier League clash on Sunday.
With the likes of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden suffering with minor injuries over the last week, the 26-year-old has taken his chance in the starting lineup, netting in each of his last two appearances against Everton and Paris Saint-Germain.
Sterling has just four goals to his name across all competitions this season – all of which have been on home soil – and the forward will be keen to add to that tally against the Hammers, who he has had plenty of success against over the years.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Sterling's record against West Ham.
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Sterling's first five encounters against West Ham were with former club Liverpool, however the forward had to wait until his fourth appearance before finding the net against the East Londoners.
The Englishman, at the age of 19, rifled in his first strike against the Hammers in a 3-1 defeat at Upton Park in September 2014, before netting the opening goal in a 2-0 home victory for the Reds four months later.
The following campaign saw Sterling make the switch from Anfield to the Etihad, where he has since gone on to have a real impact in front of goal for the Citizens against West Ham, providing 13 goal contributions in 12 appearances across all competitions.
In the Premier League, Sterling has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight games against the Hammers, scoring six times and registering five assists. However, only two of these goal contributions have come at the Etihad Stadium, both of which were when the forward netted twice in a 3-1 victory in August 2016 – Pep Guardiola's second home league match in charge of the Citizens.
Since then, the England international has excelled for Man City in away games against the Hammers, with all of his next 10 goal contributions (four goals and six assists) coming at the London Stadium.
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Sterling's impressive form against West Ham in the capital helped City cruise to victory on four successive occasions in the Premier League between 2017 and 2019, winning by a staggering aggregate score of 17-1.
After laying on two assists in a 4-0 success in January 2017, Sterling then provided a hat-trick of assists for Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho the following season to help the Citizens win 4-1 on the road, with the other goal put into his own net by former City right-back Pablo Zabaleta.
Sterling and Sane would link up once again in November 2018, with the pair both finding the net and laying on an assist for each other in another 4-0 win in London, before the Englishman produced a memorable man-of-the-man performance in October 2019 with a second-half hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing.
Last season, Sterling failed to register a goal or an assist against the East Londoners for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign; the forward blanked in a 1-1 draw away from home and was then an unused substitute for the first time against the Hammers in Man City's 2-1 win at the Etihad in February.
In a sky blue shirt, Sterling has won eight and drawn two of his 12 games against West Ham, with his only two defeats coming in his first and most recent matches against them. The most recent was in October when David Moyes's men became the first team in five years to eliminate the perennial EFL Cup winners, winning 5-3 on penalties in the fourth round after a goalless draw in 90 minutes.
Guardiola's side will now seek revenge against West Ham on Sunday, with Sterling hoping he can get his name on the scoresheet once again and net his first home goal against the Hammers since 2016.
Oliver Thomas
