Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's later Premier League kickoff as
Manchester City host
West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium!
It looks like being a daunting task for West Ham today, with City in relentlessly devastating form and on the verge of equalling the best ever run in the Premier League, having already broken records with their brilliant start to the season. The Hammers, meanwhile, are at the opposite end of the spectrum and find themselves only one point off the bottom of the table ahead of a difficult run of fixtures.
We will take a closer look at whether the visitors have any hope of pulling off a shock a little later, but we start as ever with the team news...
MANCHESTER CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Otamendi, Mangala, Danilo; Walker, De Bruyne, Silva, Delph; Sterling, Sane, Aguero
MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Bravo, Yaya Toure, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Bernardo, Jesus, Kompany
WEST HAM STARTING XI: Adrian; Zabaleta, Rice, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Fernandes, Kouyate, Obiang, Masuaku; Lanzini; Antonio
WEST HAM SUBS: Trott, Johnson, Quina, Arnautovic, Ayew, Martinez, Sakho
What can we make of those two teams, then?
Well, such is the depth of the Manchester City squad that the eye is always automatically drawn to whether its is Gabriel Jesus or Sergio Aguero who leads the line for Pep Guardiola's side at the moment, and today is is Aguero who gets the nod.
They both started during the narrow midweek win over Southampton, but Jesus drops out of the starting XI this afternoon as Leroy Sane returns to the fold having missed the previous game through illness.
While Aguero and Sane certainly provide a lot of attacking threat, perhaps the man to watch today will be the other member of the deadly front three as Raheem Sterling once again starts for City.
The England international has developed into the ultimate clutch player so far this season, and his form over the past week or so has been quite incredible. Sterling has scored the winning goal in the 84th minute or later four times this season, including in each of City's last three games - against Feyenoord, Huddersfield and then in the 96th minute against Southampton in midweek.
Couple that with the 82nd-minute equaliser he scored in the early-season draw with Everton and Sterling has been responsible for winning City nine extra points this season, including seven in the Premier League without which they would currently trail Manchester United by two points.
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Sterling's improvement under Guardiola has been remarkable, and the winger already has nine league goals to his name this season, equalling his career-best for a single Premier League campaign after only 14 games.
Of course, he isn't exactly short of players to supply him with that firepower and, if one of Sterling, Sane, Aguero or Jesus cannot unlock a defence then the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva are more than capable of doing it. Both have been brilliant so far this season, with Silva having already surpassed last season's total number of assists.
It looks as though City have gone for a 3-4-3 formation today, with Danilo coming into the side perhaps in a central defensive role alongside Otamendi and the returning Eliaquim Mangala as Kompany drops out.
Fernandinho is another to make way in a City side which shows four changes from the midweek win over Southampton, and the reason for that is surely that both he and Kompany are just one yellow card away from picking up a suspension - which would cause them to miss next weekend's Manchester derby. Sane is also a booking away, but he is trusted from the start.
How do you stop that City lineup, then? Well West Ham have that difficult task today, and they must do it without a number of key players due to various reasons.
Andy Carroll, Javier Hernandez and Jose Fonte all remain sidelined through injury, while on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart is ineligible to play against his parent club - something he will be more annoyed about than anyone as he bids to prove Pep Guardiola wrong.
There is more bad news on the injury front for West Ham in that Winston Reid has failed a late fitness test having been withdrawn in the final 15 minutes of the defeat to Everton with a hamstring problem.
All that means there is a start for Rice in the heart of the defence - only the 18-year-old's third league start of the season, and what a game to get it in. Ogbonna will be alongside him at centre-back, but this will be a huge test for the youngster.
One man who may be relishing today's match more than most of a West Ham persuasion is Pablo Zabaleta, who this afternoon returns to the Etihad Stadium for the first time since seeing his nine-year spell at City come to an end in the summer.
The occasions has been made even more special by Zabaleta being handed the West Ham armband for the first time too, with Mark Noble omitted from the squad entirely.
On the bench for West Ham, Nathan Trott and Ben Johnson have been included in the matchday squad for the first time by
David Moyes, although there is a certain feel of lambs to the slaughter about that.
Should the Hammers pull off a shock then it is likely to come through either Lanzini or Antonio, the latter of whom has scored all of his last six Premier League goals away from home. He also scored in this corresponding fixture last season.
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There aren't many West Ham fans who will be expecting anything from this game, though, and it is easy to see why.
Even ignoring West Ham's own poor form at the moment, Manchester City are the form team in the whole of Europe right now, with Pep Guardiola's side storming into a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League table with an unprecedented 40 points from their opening 14 games, dropping only two along the way.
Not only do City boast the highest ever points tally at this stage of a Premier League season, but they have also scored more goals than any other team has ever managed after 14 games - finding the back of the net 44 times at an average of more than three per game.
Couple that with the joint-best defensive record in the division and you can see why Guardiola's side have found such an incredible winning formula this season, and one which West Ham will find it incredibly difficult to break here.
Exactly one year ago today Manchester City fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea here at the Etihad Stadium, which was Chelsea's eighth win on the bounce en route to a record-equalling 13 consecutive victories in the Premier League and a second title in the space of three years.
One year on, and City not only find themselves 10 points better off than at the same stage of last season, but also on the verge of equalling that Chelsea record of 13 Premier League wins in a row, which was initially set by Arsenal in 2001-02.
City are actually unbeaten in 22 Premier League matches since that defeat to Chelsea exactly one year ago today, and while another victory here would see them equal the single-season record for consecutive Premier League wins, they would still be short of the all-time record.
The Arsenal class of 2002 won 14 on the bounce over two seasons from February to August, meaning that City could equal that record - and break the single-season record - at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby next weekend, providing they win here first, of course.
In all competitions City's winning streak now stands at a scarcely-believable 19 in a row, which is unsurprisingly already a club record. Indeed, since the beginning of May they have won 24 of their 25 outings in all competitions, with the only exception being an August draw with Everton.
However, they have only scraped by in recent weeks, needing those late, late goals from Raheem Sterling to edge past Feyenoord, Huddersfield and Southampton, so perhaps we may be coming to the end of their incredible run of form.
On the flip side, winning such matches is so often the sign of champions, and it will take something special from the chasing pack as well as a slip-up from City to prevent them from winning the title this season.
Manchester United's thrilling victory over Arsenal yesterday closed the gap back down to a more manageable five points, but City are expected to restore that to eight today and that would take them into next weekend's Manchester derby with the chance to go 11 points clear - surely an unassailable lead considering their form.
City have won their last 10 home games across all competitions since that draw with Everton in August, average three goals per game in the process, while it is 26 matches here at the Etihad since their last defeat, stretching back exactly a year.
That includes 19 unbeaten Premier League home games and six consecutive wins prior to this one, although they would actually only sit third in the table behind Manchester United and Arsenal is only home form counted this season.
Even so, City have scored a league-high 26 goals from their seven home league games so far this season - an eye-watering average of 3.7 per game - which will not come as good news to a West Ham side who have the worst defensive record away from home in the league.
The midweek 4-0 defeat at the hands of Everton means that West Ham have now conceded 19 away goals in the league this season - more than any other team - so simply keeping the score down today could be considered a minor victory for the visitors.
West Ham are one of only three teams without an away win to their name in the Premier League so far this season, while only Crystal Palace have amassed fewer points on the road than the three West Ham have managed from a possible 24.
Indeed, the Hammers have failed to even score in five of their seven away league games so far this season, including both of their matches under David Moyes so far, conceding six unanswered goals in the process.
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West Ham's away troubles can be dated back further than David Moyes's arrival, though, with the Hammers having won just one of their last 15 league games on the road since February, drawing six and losing eight of those.
West Ham will be glad to be getting back to the London Stadium for their next two games, then, but even for those they will be big underdogs as they come up against Chelsea and Arsenal after this one.
Facing Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in succession certainly isn't ideal for a team in West Ham's predicament right now, and December could grow even more miserable for them considering they have Tottenham on New Year's Eve in addition to another game against Arsenal in the EFL Cup.
The odds suggest that David Moyes's search for a first win as West Ham boss may go on for a few more weeks, then, unless the Scot can mastermind a shock against any of those top-four hopefuls.
West Ham have picked up just one point from three games under Moyes so far, scoring just the one goal too whilst conceding seven at the other end.
Including the end of the Slaven Bilic era, West Ham's winless run in the Premier League now stretches back seven matches to their 1-0 triumph over fellow strugglers Swansea in September, with only five goals having been scored in that time. There are a lot of issues for Moyes to work out if the Hammers are to survive.
West Ham are actually only two points worse off than they were at the same stage of last season, when they went on to finish 11th in the table.
However, the alarm bells are ringing a lot louder for the Hammers this term having already sacked one manager and brought in another who hasn't exactly inspired confidence amongst the fans. West Ham are three points adrift of safety and only one point clear of bottom, and another defeat today would set a new club record for the fewest points after 15 games of a Premier League season.
David Moyes was the first manager Pep Guardiola came up against in the Premier League, and Man City needed a late own goal to overcome Sunderland on the opening day of last season.
Moyes's hopes of running City that close today look bleak, but first and foremost he must attempt to keep his side in the game beyond the opening exchanges. City have only scored twice inside the first 15 minutes so far this season, but West Ham have conceded a joint league-high four during that period and another joint league-high of 14 goals in the first half too, so they are playing catch-up far too often
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Etihad Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This one looks like one of the biggest bankers you will see all season - the formbook, the stats and just about everything else points to a comfortable and convincing Man City victory, and the likelihood of West Ham being the team to halt their charge looks very slim indeed. Easy win for the hosts.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Man City 4-0 West Ham
Manchester City have won nine of the previous 11 Premier League meetings between these two sides at the Etihad Stadium, scoring in each of those contests and losing just the one.
That solitary West Ham win here came in September 2015, although there is potentially a bad omen for City from that game as the Hammers' victory ended what was then City's club-record winning run in the Premier League (11 matches).
In all competitions West Ham have only won three of their last 25 meetings, drawing five and losing 17 of those, so Man City have certainly dominated this fixture in recent years, as you would expect.
All three of those West Ham wins came in the Premier League, although it is still a pretty poor record of three wins, four draws and 13 defeats from their last 20 league meetings with City.
These two sides met three times last season, with City coming out on top in each of them by a 12-1 aggregate scoreline - including away wins of 5-0 and 4-0 on their first two visits to the London Stadium.
The most recent clash was that 4-0 triumph as De Bruyne, Silva, Jesus and Toure all got on the scoresheet, while the last meeting here saw Sterling score yet another late goal - his second of the game - in a 3-1 win for City.
The players are on their way out to the field now and we're almost ready to get going at the Etihad. A reminder of the team news before we do get started...
MANCHESTER CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Otamendi, Mangala, Danilo; Walker, De Bruyne, Silva, Delph; Sterling, Sane, Aguero
WEST HAM STARTING XI: Adrian; Zabaleta, Rice, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Fernandes, Kouyate, Obiang, Masuaku; Lanzini; Antonio
KICKOFF: Here we go then! Man City get us underway at the Etihad!
Man City want an early penalty as Sterling goes to ground inside the area, but Mike Dean pays little attention to the appeals.
One early thing to note in this formation is that Delph appears to have reverted to his favoured central midfield role, with Danilo playing on the left of the back four.
Half a chance early on from City's first corner of the game as the ball arrives to Mangala, but he can't get a clean connection on it and it bobbles wide.
I have just seen a replay of that early Sterling penalty claim, and in truth the winger is fortunate to avoid a yellow card. There was the slightest touch on his arm from Masuaku and he threw himself to the ground.
CHANCE! West Ham almost take a shock early lead on their first meaningful attack! Kouyate flicks the ball on from a corner at the front post and it travels through to Antonio, but at full stretch he just can't turn it home. Early warning sign for City, though.
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City win another corner - their third of the match already - but again West Ham deal with it. The Hammers will be furious if they concede via a set piece against a team who have so many other means of hurting them.
Just over 10 minutes remaining and already West Ham are getting their first warning for time-wasting. Mike Dean lets Adrian know that he is on to him.
The vast majority of play is coming deep inside the West Ham half right now, as expected, but there is no way through for City at the moment. The Hammers are keeping things tight at the back so far.
Good give-and-go between De Bruyne and Sterling as the latter breaks in behind the defence down the right and delivers a cross to Aguero, but his first touch isn't good enough to create a shooting chance and West Ham eventually survive conceding only a corner.
Almost a mix-up in the Man City defence as Walker fails to clear his lines, gifting West Ham possession in a dangerous area. Masuaku fires a low ball into the box which Antonio almost gets on the end of, but Ederson is able to collect it at the second attempt.
YELLOW CARD! The first card of the game is shown to Rice for a mistimed challenge on Sane.
Sane ups the tempo on his way to the edge of the box, but he is the latest to find a West Ham wall in the way. Zabaleta then reads his pass towards Danilo, intercepting it and clearing his lines.
I mentioned in the build-up that West Ham's first task would be to get through the opening exchanges unscathed, and they have managed that now. Not only have City not scored, but they haven't really had a decent chance either.
Midway through this first half and City are yet to really hit their stride. They are not moving the ball quickly as we are used to seeing, and perhaps have been guilty of taking things a little bit easy in the opening exchanges here.
West Ham have a chance to break with Antonio finding himself one on one against Otamendi, but the City defender makes a really good challenge to halt the attack.
SAVE! Adrian is finally called into action for the first time today, and it is a good save from the keeper too. De Bruyne plays the ball across to Silva just outside the area and the Spaniard lets fly, with his strike deflecting off Rice and needing to be tipped over by the keeper.
SHOT! Sterling has his first sight of goal after a couple of City corners, again collecting a pass from De Bruyne but slicing his subsequent left-footed effort well off target.
There have just been one or two suggestions that there could be something for West Ham from this game. It would come from a breakaway or a set piece, but if they can keep things this tight at the back then they could have a chance of springing a major surprise.
Here is City's best attacking moment of the match so far, this is not what we would have expected after more than half an hour...
West Ham think that they are in momentarily here as a quick free kick releases Antonio when one on one with the keeper, but he had just strayed offside, and Ederson saved his effort anyway.
CHANCE! Another chance for West Ham to take a shock lead! Silva tackles a West Ham man on the edge of the box, but that only takes the ball into the path of Lanzini. The angle is against the Argentine, but he blasts his effort towards goal and Ederson fumbles it narrowly wide.
Sane tries his luck from a tight angle at the other end, but his efforts ends up high and wide of the target. City just cannot get going in the final third at the moment.
This is what City have been forced to resort to. A corner is played short to De Bruyne, who in turn picks out Walker, but the full-back fires an ambitious effort a long, long way off target from range.
Kouyate needs some treatment here for what looks like a hamstring problem, although it looks as though he will be fine to continue so it can't be too serious.
West Ham look like they will make it to half time still goalless in this match, and they have even had the best attacking chances themselves. Moyes will be delighted with what he has seen so far.
WEST HAM SUB: Kouyate will not be able to continue after all, so on comes Diafra Sakho in his place.
GOAL! Man City 0-1 West Ham (Angelo Ogbonna)
Oh my word, this was not in the script! West Ham take the lead against Man City, and they actually deserve it too!
The Hammers play a corner short before Cresswell swings his cross into the box which Ogbonna meets with a firm head in front of Otamendi. Ederson gets a hand to it, but he cannot keep it out and the Etihad is stunned!
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There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
City are almost in behind the defence for the first time tonight as Silva threads a pass through to Aguero, who is denied by Aguero from an offside position.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 0-1 West Ham United
The first half comes to an at the Etihad Stadium, and what a turnup for the books we could have on our hands here!
Very few people gave West Ham even a hint of a chance today, but it is the visitors who go into the break with a shock lead - and even more amazingly it is a deserved one too.
The only goal of the game so far came right on the stroke of half time as West Ham broke the deadlock against all of the odds.
City have looked vulnerable from set pieces in recent weeks, and West Ham were the latest to exploit that weakness as Creswell played the corner short before receiving it back and swinging his cross into the middle. Ogbonna beat Otamendi to the ball and planted a firm header past Ederson, who could not keep it out.
West Ham have had all of the best chances in the first half too, with Antonio failed to convert Kouyate's flick at the back post and Lanzini stinging the palms of Ederson with a powerful strike from a tight angle.
Defensively, the Hammers have been very disciplined and have not let City play through them at any stage, and if they can repeat that performance in the second half then they could well come away from this match with one of the shocks of the season.
That said, surely City will improve in the second half. They have been so lethargic in this match so far, and it must be their worst performance of the entire season so far.
Silva is the only player who has come close to scoring with a deflected strike which needed to be tipped over the top by Adrian, but aside from that City have created very little despite dominating the possession.
KICKOFF: West Ham get us back underway at the Etihad, and there is news of a City change to bring you at the break as Gabriel Jesus replaces Danilo.
City win an early free kick in a decent crossing position which De Bruyne lofts into the box, but Adrian comes to claim it well.
SAVE! West Ham win a free kick which comes to nothing, but the ball eventually arrives to Masuaku, who tries his luck from a long way out. It is dipping and bouncing awkwardly, but Ederson makes it look easy.
Almost a chance for City and Sterling, who sweeps an effort towards goal from inside the box. However, the ball hits Jesus in an offside position, bringing the attack to an end.
City continue to dominate possession here and they are beginning to carry a bit more threat in their attacks too. The latest sees Delph brought to ground right outside the area by Rice, who is fortunate to avoid a second yellow card. Further punishment could be coming, though...
SAVE! De Bruyne powers a really good effort towards the corner on the goalkeeper's side, but Adrian makes a really good stop.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 West Ham (Nicolas Otamendi)
City finally have the equaliser! The hosts recycle the ball from that saved free kick and Jesus breaks into the box before playing a low ball into the box which Otamendi meets.
The Argentine has made a striker's run to get in front of Rice and he gets just enough on the ball - via a deflection off Rice - to smuggle it past the keeper.
YELLOW CARD! De Bruyne goes into the book for a trip on Masuaku.
SAVE! City are beginning to knock on the door now. Sane cuts inside onto his right and curls one towards goal, but Adrian parries it away.
SHOT! De Bruyne is the latest to try his luck from range with a powerful strike, but it is well off target.
Just 25 minutes remaining in this match now and, at the risk of stating the obvious, West Ham look a lot less secure now than they did before that equalising goal. City have finally started to come to life.
SHOT! West Ham are managing to limit City to long-range efforts at the moment, with Silva the latest to miss the target from outside the area.
SAVE! Sane is growing into this game more and more now, and he darts down the left channel past two defenders here before unleashing a powerful shot which Adrian needs to save.
SHOT! Yet another effort from Sane, but this time he fails to trouble Adrian as the ball zips wide of the far post.
WEST HAM SUB: Another change for the visitors as Marko Arnautovic replaces Lanzini.
SAVE! Another long-range strike, and another save from Adrian. This time he holds on to De Bruyne's deflected strike from 25 yards.
CHANCE! Oh City should be ahead here! Jesus curls one effort towards goal which Adrian does really well to save one-handed, but he can only parry the ball into the path of Sterling. The winger snatches at what is pretty much a sitter, though, and the chance goes begging. You'd have expected him to bag that on current form!
West Ham have just over 15 minutes left to hold out here. This would be such a huge and unexpected point for them, but they are in for a busy finale at the back.
City have left it late so often this season, and that looks set to be the case again today. Surely Sterling can't be the late hero for a fourth match in a row?
CHANCES! The City players are queuing up here! Sterling gives the ball to Silva inside the area but the Spaniard sees his shot on the turn blocked. The ball falls to Jesus, but he cannot get a shot away and City have to make do with a corner.
Here is that Sterling sitter which, at the moment, looks like costing City two valuable points...
SAVE! West Ham have not been able to get out of their own third for a while now, but suddenly they break forward and Antonio cuts inside before drawing a flying save from Ederson.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 West Ham (David Silva)
City do leave it late once again! Silva gets what is surely the winner, hooking the ball back across goal on the volley after a sumptuous delivery from De Bruyne.
The Belgian's pass was inch-perfect and Silva got behind Rice to volley it at full stretch.
MAN CITY SUB: Guardiola makes a change in the immediate aftermath of that goal as Aguero is replaced by Fernandinho.
Antonio needs some treatment late here having seemingly tweaked something in his leg when going for a ball in the box.
WEST HAM SUB: Antonio is unable to continue as Andre Ayew comes on in his place.
CHANCE! Big chance for West Ham to rescue a point from this one! Arnautovic gets the better of Mangala down the right flank and he pulls the ball back to Sakho, but he steers his low strike narrowly wide of the target when he should have done better.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.
MAN CITY SUBS: A third and final change for City sees Bernardo Silva replace Sane.
YELLOW CARD! Adrian picks up a late yellow card for a rash challenge on Jesus having charged out of his area.
FULL TIME: Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United
That was a lot more difficult than most of the City fans would have expected! The hosts hold out for a 2-1 victory over West Ham, equalling the Premier League record of 13 wins in a row and restoring their eight-point lead at the top of the table.
That is only half of the story, though, as West Ham battled well and took the lead in the closing stages of the first half, only for goals from Otamendi and Silva to hand the league leaders all three points yet again.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash as top-of-the-table Manchester City battle past struggling West Ham for a record-equalling win, leaving it late once again. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
