Manchester City vs West Ham United - Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Neither of these sides have been playing particularly well of late, but the home side should come out on top here. City have still only lost twice at the Etihad this season, and in their recent 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month, they showed they’re still capable of good performances. West Ham are fresh off the back of a 0-5 leathering from Liverpool, which was the latest in a line of poor showings, even if West Ham’s results don’t necessarily reflect that.

Both teams to score has occurred in three of both sides’ last five games, and City have kept only two clean sheets at home in the league this season, so we do fancy there will be goals at both ends here.

Our prediction - Manchester City 2-1 West Ham.

Manchester City are looking to get their season back on track as they face West Ham United in the Premier League this weekend.

• Date: 04/01/2025
• Kick-off time: 15:00
• Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Manchester City are currently 6th in the Premier League with 31 points from 19 games. It’s been an anomaly of a season for City in comparison to every other campaign with Pep Guardiola at the helm, as his team are forced to find solutions to a number of crisis factors. It feels almost certain that City’s treble-winning core have had their time in the sun and are in dire need of replacing, but - as far as this season is concerned - that has come to the attention of the club far too late, so they find themselves in the middle of a Premier League season with a major rebuild an urgent priority.

City are highly unlikely to win the league title at this stage, so a top four finish is their primary goal. They’re only four points shy of Chelsea in 4th, but 23 of their 31 points were accumulated in their first 9 games, and they’ve gained only eight points in their last ten outings, so based on their current trajectory alone, the gap between them and the top four is more likely to widen rather than close.

Guardiola himself is in the fairly unfamiliar position of having to find drastic solutions to a team whose qualities have completely eroded, while also needing to be at the forefront of a squad rebuild, should he choose to stay in Manchester until the end of his contract. Many are watching with a keen eye, particularly his critics, who claim he only tends to succeed when the conditions are weighted heavily in his favour. To most people, that is quite a stretch, but it will be interesting to see how Guardiola deals with these challenges. He’s been quite insistent that injuries have been the major factor in his team’s struggles, and while they’ve no doubt suffered as a result of injuries, especially in defence, it feels almost delusional to identify that as the major cause of the team’s ills.

Where City go from here is quite a mystery to most. It’s unimaginable that City would finish outside of the top four but if they don’t start picking up points at a greater rate, that outcome is firmly on the cards. There have been signs of improvements in recent games, so time will tell if that’s indicative of more sustained progress. They’re facing one of the easier games in the Premier League schedule here, so anything other than three points is unacceptable.

West Ham United come into this game in 13th place with 23 points from 19 games. Like Manchester City, the Hammers’ season has been marred by underachievement, with the team as a whole looking much smaller than the sum of their parts. There were quite significant expectations within the club that Julen Lopetegui would help the team kick on and reach the next level, but the reality has been the opposite, with the Hammers having clearly regressed from last season.

Most who watch West Ham regularly will say they’re lucky to have the number of points they do, with the team regularly second-best in their league encounters, even in games they win. The team are regularly abject in their performances and their defence is notably poor, with Lopetegui’s side having conceded an expected goals against rate of 1.71xGA, the fourth-worst rate in the league.

West Ham invested significantly in the likes of Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo in the summer, but they aren’t particularly close to bearing the fruit of those transfers, and questions are being asked of Lopetegui. The Spaniard has been under significant pressure, and while he’s so far accumulated points at a significant enough rate to keep himself in a job, there isn’t anything close to a consensus of satisfaction around the club.

The Hammers need performances as much as they need points on the board, so a good showing here would do them the world of good. Judging by their performance against Liverpool, though, there is little reason to expect much of them here.

This game won’t be televised live in the UK, but full radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio Manchester.

The home side will be without John Stones, Rúben Dias, Matheus Nunes, Ederson and Oscar Bobb, while Rodri continues his long road to a full recovery from his ACL injury.

James McAtee made a huge impact off the bench against Leicester but it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be rewarded with a first league start for the club, but Phil Foden could be in danger of losing his starting place, regardless of the replacement.

Predicted line-up: Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Aké, Gvardiol; Kovačić; Doku, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Savio; Haaland

The Hammers come into this game with a pretty clean bill of health, with Michail Antonio and Łukasz Fabiański the only confirmed absentees for the trip to Manchester.

However, Jarrod Bowen is a doubt for this game after picking up a knock against Liverpool, and his absence would be a major blow for Lopetegui. Though, the Spaniard was quite coy on the England international’s issue post-match, so as of now, it feels more likely that he’ll be involved than not.

Predicted line-up: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Rodríguez; Paquetá, Souček, Soler, Kudus; Bowen

Manchester City have won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five games. Guardiola’s men recorded a sorely-needed 2-0 win over Leicester last time out, with Savio and Erling Haaland netting the goals in what was a deserved victory.

Before that, City were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Everton, where despite going 1-0 up thanks to Bernardo Silva, they were pegged back by the Toffees and struggled to create chances after the equaliser.

That result followed a 2-1 defeat away to Aston Villa, a 1-2 defeat to Manchester United - thanks to a late comeback by the visitors - and a 2-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League.

West Ham’s form has seen them win two, drawn two and lose one of their last five outings. Most recently, the Hammers fell to a 0-5 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool, where Lopetegui’s team delivered a very sorry showing.

Prior to that, West Ham beat Southampton 1-0 away from home thanks to a Jarrod Bowen goal, which came after successive 1-1 draws with Brighton and Bournemouth, the latter of which saw them concede a late equaliser, with Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paquetá scoring the goals in those games.

Those results were preceded by a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Tomáš Souček and Bowen grabbed the goals.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day