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

Fresh from their humbling Champions League loss in midweek, Manchester City turn their attention back to the Premier League title race when they face relegation-threatened West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday night.

The Citizens picked up maximum points in the reverse fixture against the Hammers, winning 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium at the end of December.

Match preview

After enjoying an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions, Man City came crashing back down to earth when they suffered a 3-0 first-leg defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 on a sobering night for Pep Guardiola’s side at the Bernabeu.

Guardiola has admitted that there is “not much” chance of ousting the Spanish giants in next week’s second leg at the Etihad, and while their quadruple aspirations hang by the thinnest of threads, focus must now shift back to the Premier League and their quest to topple title rivals Arsenal at the summit.

Following a 2-2 home draw with Nottingham Forest just over a week ago, Man City have slipped seven points behind leaders Arsenal who have played a game more. The Citizens are fully aware that they can ill-afford to drop any more points, and may need a favour from Arsenal’s remaining opponents, if they wish to lift the Premier League trophy in May.

Man City will back themselves to make a swift return to winning ways on Saturday, as they are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League meetings with West Ham (W17 D3); only against Fulham (a current run of 22) and Newcastle (22, between 2006 and 2018) have they enjoyed a longer unbeaten run in their league history.

Second-half improvements are required, though, from Guardiola’s side if they wish to prevail. Based on first-half results alone, City would have 67 PL points this season, 13 more than any other team (Arsenal in second with 54). However, they rank eighth in a second-half table with 41 points, and their 26-point difference between first and second-half results is the biggest of any club in this season’s top flight.

While Man City beat Newcastle 3-1 in the FA Cup fifth round prior to their loss in Madrid, West Ham punched their ticket to the quarter-finals after beating Brentford 5-3 on penalties last weekend, following a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes of action at the London Stadium.

A home tie with Leeds in April awaits for the Hammers, but they will now concentrate on Premier League duties and their bid to avoid the drop, with only goal difference separating Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in 18th with Nottingham Forest in 17th spot head into the final nine games of the season.

West Ham have boosted their survival hopes after accumulating 14 points across their last eight games (W4 D2 L2), ranking seventh in the Premier League form table for that period. They most recently claimed an important 1-0 away victory over Fulham just over a week ago.

The Hammers are now looking to win consecutive Premier League matches for the third time this season, previously doing so in November (against Newcastle and Burnley) and January (against Tottenham and Sunderland).

However, success on Saturday could prove challenging for West Ham, as they have never beaten Man City at the London Stadium in the Premier League in nine attempts (D2 L7); only against Brighton have they faced an opponent as often without winning at their own stadium (D7 L2).

West Ham United Premier League form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Team News

West Ham attacker Crysencio Summerville, who has scored seven goals in his last 11 appearances in all competitions, is ruled out this weekend after sustaining a calf injury in the FA Cup victory over Brentford.

Oliver Scarles and Adama Traore both picked up knocks against the Bees and are minor doubts, while backup goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski remains in the treatment room with a lower back issue.

After missing the previous five games with a calf injury, January signing Pablo Felipe was fit to start against Brentford and he could continue in the final third against Man City, starting alongside Valentin Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen who scored twice against Brentford last time out.

Full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf, as well as Soungoutou Magassa, are all likely to earn recalls, with the latter hoping to start in midfield alongside Mateus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek.

As for Man City, Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) remains a long-term absence and Mateo Kovacic (ankle/heel) is closing in on a return from an ankle/heel issue, but this weekend’s game will likely come too soon for the midfielder. Rico Lewis (ankle), meanwhile, is a doubt.

Full-backs Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri will both be hoping to force their way back into the first XI, and the same can be said for creative pair Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden who will rival Savinho and Jeremy Doku for starts in the final third.

Omar Marmoush is another looking to earn a recall in attack, while Erling Haaland could lead the line once again – the Norwegian has scored more Premier League goals against West Ham than any other opponent (11).

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Fernandes, Magassa, Soucek; Bowen, Pablo, Castellanos

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Cherki; Semenyo, Haaland

We say: West Ham United 2-3 Manchester City

There is plenty at stake for both teams heading into this weekend’s fixture and failure to collect maximum points could have damaging consequences.

The absence of Summerville is a blow for West Ham, but recent team performances suggest they are improving and still capable of troubling Man City’s vulnerable backline.

Nevertheless, we are backing Guardiola’s men to respond to their midweek disappointment and edge what could be an entertaining end-to-end contest.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.