West Ham United vs Manchester City
Manchester City’s treble hopes were hit with a massive blow, following their 3-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League yesterday. Because they’re likely to lose out, the Sky Blues should probably focus on stealing the Premier League title away from Arsenal this season.
At the time of writing, Pep Guardiola’s side is second in the English top-flight standings with 60 points, seven points behind the Gunners, with a game in hand. However, they can cut the lead to four points if they take care of business against West Ham United at London Stadium on Saturday evening.
West Ham United also need this win to inch closer to safety. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are the 18th seed with 28 points, level with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, and they’re fresh from a morale-boosting win against Brentford in the FA Cup fifth round.
Learn more about these two teams by continuing to read our SBOTOP preview.
Talking Points
West Ham United suffer major injury blow
Nuno Espirito Santo will likely be without one of his most in-form players against Manchester City, as it was reported that Crysencio Summerville could be out for weeks after he sustained a knock during their draining FA Cup victory against Brentford.
Summerville, the Hammers’ joint-second top scorer with five league goals, came off the bench in the second half and played through extra time. However, the 24-year-old winger didn’t step up for any of their five penalties, as he limped off the pitch late. He has only missed five league matches so far, and West Ham United have not managed a win in any of them, so they will be hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement this weekend.
His absence will open up more minutes for Adama Traore and Pablo, while Jarrod Bowen, their top scorer with eight league goals and five assists, is expected to handle a bigger workload. Taty Castellanos, Mateus Fernandes, and Callum Wilson are also expected to play key roles in the team’s final third.
West Ham United are also concerned with Oliver Scarles’ fitness ahead of the Manchester City contest. If the young left-back is out, Aaron Wan-Bissaka could replace Scarles in the starting XI.
Manchester City expected to tweak their starting XI
Changes are likely on the horizon for Manchester City after they were badly outplayed by Real Madrid last night. Manager Pep Guardiola handed starts to Jeremy Doku, Savinho, and Abdukodir Khusanov, while moving Nico O’Reilly – a natural midfielder – to left-back, replacing Nathan Ake.
Playing O’Reilly as a left-back proved to be costly for Manchester City, as the 20-year-old was culpable for Fede Valverde’s first (of his three) goals when he misjudged a long ball forward from opposing goalie, Thibaut Courtois.
With that said, Guardiola could have Ake back in the rearguard alongside Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, and Matheus Nunes. Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Ait-Nouri could also contend for starting spots.
History
Manchester City won 3-0 against West Ham United in the reverse fixture at the Etihad last December, as Erling Haaland (brace) and Tijjani Reijnders were on the scoresheet. At the time, Haaland had already scored 19 goals in the Premier League, the joint-highest mark by a player in a campaign before Christmas alongside Andy Cole (1993-94), Kevin Phillips (1999-00), and Luis Suarez (2013-14).
The Sky Blues are undefeated in their last 20 Premier League matches against the Hammers (W17, D3), with their last loss a 2-1 result in September 2015. Manchester City are also unbeaten at the London Stadium in the Premier League (W7, D2).
After their 1-0 win over Fulham, West Ham United are bidding to win consecutive Premier League matches for the third time this term, last doing so in January (against Tottenham and Sunderland).
Betting Tip
The Premier League 2026 odds envision Manchester City venting their ire on West Ham United on Saturday. The Sky Blues are 1.68 favourites to win in London, whereas the Hammers are 4.07 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.85 in the 1X2 market.
After going scoreless against Los Blancos, Manchester City should be back on the scoresheet against the Hammers, producing numerous Premier League 2026 highlights in the process. With that said, bettors may also add Over 3.00 at 1.80, Over 3.25 at 2.08, Over 3.50 at 2.38, and even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.54 to the parlay. Moreover, a Correct Score of 3-0 in favour of the Sky Blues – the result of their last league meeting – offers a handsome payday of 15.50.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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