High-flying Manchester City host West Ham United at Eastlands on Saturday hoping to make it six of the best and extend their rip-roaring start to the Premier League season.
However, they come up against a Hammers side who have specialised in unlikely away wins so far, and victory is anything but a foregone conclusion for the title-chasing Sky Blues.
Manchester City
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With five wins from five, 11 scored and zero conceded, Manchester City have been flawless in every way so far. With Premier League champions Chelsea languishing 11 points behind them, things could hardly be going better for Manuel Pellegrini's side.
It is often said that the hallmark of potential champions is the capacity to grind out victories when the team is not at their best, and City can certainly cross that off the checklist following the way in which they defeated Crystal Palace last time out.
Considered their biggest test of the season away to an in-form Palace side, the Sky Blues' struggles reflected the billing as Pellegrini's men found themselves frustrated for 90 minutes, but a stoppage-time winner from Kelechi Iheanacho saw the visitors preserve their 100% start.
The manner of their hard-fought win will have certainly consolidated the belief that they can go all the way this season and, when reflecting on their victories so far, it is growing increasingly hard to disagree.
The 2014 champions kicked things off with a comfortable 3-0 win away to Tony Pulis-managed West Bromwich Albion, before then smashing champions Chelsea by the same scoreline - although the victory should have been by a wider margin.
Pellegrini and co then came through another tricky test unscathed after beating Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park, with Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri on target in the final half-hour, before a 2-0 win at home to newly-promoted Watford followed prior to the international break.
The victory at Palace followed after the two-week hiatus to enhance the feel-good factor over their title bid, but Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League defeat by Juventus at Eastlands has taken some of the gloss off their early-season heroics.
Whether or not that setback brings them back to earth and begins affecting them domestically remains to be seen, but as it stands, it certainly seems as if it is already City's title to lose, and a sixth successive league win come Saturday will make it harder to doubt them.
Recent form: WWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWL
West Ham United
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The Citizens cannot afford to rest on their laurels against this West Ham United side- just ask Arsene Wenger and Brendan Rodgers.
The Hammers have endured an inconsistent start to the Premier League season, but there can be no doubt that United have shown hugely encouraging signs under Slaven Bilic in his first season. When they are good, they are very good.
Bilic, who replaced Sam Allardyce in the summer, masterminded a 2-0 win at Arsenal on the opening day of the season, but if that was a surprise for the right reasons, then the way in which they followed up that scalp must surely be a shock for the wrong reasons.
Despite the Irons riding the crest of a wave into their visit of Leicester City at Upton Park a week later, the Foxes emerged with a 2-1 win, before newly-promoted Bournemouth won 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller the following week. Suddenly, that win over the Gunners felt like a long time ago.
With a trip to Liverpool - who had won seven points from a possible nine - next on the agenda, nothing but an emphatic defeat was forecast, but West Ham's big-game mentality surfaced once more as they destroyed the Reds 3-0 at Anfield. Philippe Coutinho was red-carded after 52 minutes, but the visitors were already 2-0 ahead.
Heading into last Monday's visit of Newcastle United, the big question was whether or not Bilic's side could do it in games that they are expected to win. They answered it. Summer signing Dimitri Payet, who looks one of the bargains of the season at £12m, scored twice as the Londoners pulled off a 2-0 victory.
Although City will be overwhelming favourites, few would be overly surprised to see Bilic's new-look West Ham side complete the hat-trick of unlikely away scalps in arguably the toughest location possible.
Recent form: WLLWW
Team News
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City have been boosted by the news that Sergio Aguero is 100% fit to start against West Ham, according to Pellegrini.
The Argentine marksman picked up a knee injury in the win over Palace, but he is poised to return to the fold on Saturday, having been benched for the defeat to Juve.
However, the Chilean coach revealed that captain Vincent Kompany would miss out tomorrow with a calf injury, with Nicolas Otamendi expected to deputise at centre-back.
Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy remain sidelined, meaning that Bacary Sagna and Kolarov will continue in the full-back positions.
For West Ham, Bilic confirmed that centre-back Angelo Ogbonna would miss the trip to Manchester with a hamstring injury. As a result, Carl Jenkinson could return at right-back, while James Tomkins may partner Winston Reid in the middle of their defence.
Bilic also stated that he is waiting to see if midfielder Pedro Obiang is fit enough after picking up a "slight knock" in training. Goalkeeper Adrian is eligible to return after serving out a three-match ban and he might replace Darren Randolph, who has kept back-to-back clean sheets.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Kolarov; Toure, Fernandinho, Navas, Silva, Sterling; Aguero
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Adrian; Jenkinson, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell; Noble, Kouyate, Moses, Payet, Lanzini; Sakho
Head To Head
Ominously, it has been nine years since West Ham secured an away victory over City, with Alan Pardew's Irons winning 2-1 in an FA Cup meeting in March, 2006. It is a fixture that Saturday's hosts have dominated since, winning 14 and drawing four of the 21 subsequent meetings.
Under Pellegrini, the Citizens recorded a 9-0 aggregate win over West Ham in a Capital One Cup semi-final tie in 2014, but a 2-1 Hammers win at Upton Park under Allardyce last term may give the visitors a reason to be cheerful coming into the Etihad.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Manchester City 2-1 West Ham United
As West Ham brilliantly demonstrated at the Emirates and Anfield, they have an appetite for an upset. Bilic's side will feel as if they have an outside chance of completing a hat-trick of high-profile scalps but, in truth, visiting City and coming away with a victory is much more daunting than what they achieved at Arsenal and Liverpool. Nevertheless, the visitors will certainly give a good account of themselves and we reckon it will be tight, but the hosts should edge it in the end.
Shane Callaghan
