After a convincing 3-0 victory against Everton last week, the Citizens remain within reach of Chelsea and still find themselves in second place on the table with 26 points. Pep’s men lived up to the expectation of putting a few goals past a terrible Toffees team last week and they have now scored a total of 25 goals this season – the second highest in the league. A clean sheet last week means Man City have not conceded in back-to-back EPL fixtures which has restored confidence amongst the fans who were slightly concerned after letting in goals against Brighton and Crystal Palace. Man City have still only let in six goals the entire season which is the second best in the league right now and will look for another clean sheet on Sunday when they take on West Ham. After securing qualification for the Champions League Round of 16, as well as top spot in their group with a 2-1 win against on Wednesday, the Citizens will be full of confidence heading into the clash which will certainly be a boost against a team like West Ham who have proven to be a tricky customer when facing off with the big names in the EPL this season.
West Ham’s remarkable four match undefeated streak came to a disappointing end at the Molineux last weekend where they lost 1-0 to Wolves. The visitors failed to capitalize on a number of chances and would be bitterly disappointed at not picking up any points in the clash. Fortunately for the Hammers they still find themselves in fourth place on the table thanks to Arsenal losing against Liverpool and things are still looking good for a spot in Europe next season for Moyes’ men. Prior to last week West Ham’s EPL campaign hit a new high when they defeated Liverpool 3-2 in London. Some other recent results include a 4-1 win away to Aston Villa, a 1-0 win at home to Spurs and a 1-0 win away to Everton. It should also not be forgotten that the Hammers defeated their opponents on Sunday already this season when the two teams met in the EFL Cup Round of 16 last month. After forcing a goalless stalemate in regular time the Hammers were able to send Manchester City out of the EFL Cup by winning the penalty shootout. This should be encouraging to the men from London and if they can put last week’s loss behind them and take just one point from Sunday’s clash it will be another massive result for them against another top league team.
There hasn’t been much success for West Ham in the last five EPL clashes between the two teams. The best the Hammers have managed was a draw last season, while the four other clashes were won by Manchester City. The last time the teams met at the Etihad was in February this year when the home team won 2-1. West Ham have not picked up a win in any of their last 11 EPL clashes with Manchester City with their last EPL win coming at the Etihad back in 2015.
Prediction
It’s going to be a very tough outing to the Etihad for West Ham and Manchester City are rightly priced up very short to win the game. The Hammers have pulled off some big results against quality teams this season, but I don’t think it’s going to be another fairy tale victory for West Ham on Sunday. Manchester City are just too good at the moment on defense and after a minor slip-up against Crystal Palace their attack appears to be right back to their full strength. West Ham will be very lucky if they can walk away here with a point but after their performance last week I don’t think they will manage to even do that. I also believe Manchester City will be out for revenge after their shock loss to the Hammers in the EFL Cup last month and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a scoreline of 2-0 or 3-0 in favour of the hosts. West Ham’s defense have only conceded 14 goals this season, but four of those goals came in their last 3 EPL matches which could be a sign that the defense is slowly getting worse. Their defense is going to struggle to hold off Manchester City’s attack and I can’t see them easily breaking through the defense. With the price being so short I am going to go for Manchester City to win and under 3.5 goals which is available at a little more than even money. I also like only one team to score in the match and for goalscorers I will back Bernardo Silva who has now scored in Manchester City’s last two matches.
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