Betting Preview: Man City vs West Ham – Cityzens to make hard work of Irons
- Seb Sternik
- 27 November 2021
Manchester City have an opportunity to go level on points with Chelsea – at least for a couple of hours – when they welcome West Ham to the Etihad stadium.
City come into Sunday's game on the back of an impressive 2-1 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
West Ham are no PSG but they will provide a different kind of challenge. After all, unlike the French champions, the Irons actually play as a team - and a good one at that.
When, where and how to watch
When: Sunday, November 11, 14.00 GMT
Where: Etihad stadium
How to watch: Not televised in the UK
Best bets for Man City vs West Ham
We've also got news of a Planet Boost Sunday treble, as Pete will explain below.
Four weeks ago, West Ham booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-final after a memorable midweek victory over Manchester City at the London stadium.
Pep Guardiola's men dominated proceedings with 64% possession, 25 goal attempts, over 650 passes and 73 dangerous attacks. Despite those numbers, the Irons frustrated their opponents and kept the score goalless before knocking out the Cityzens on penalties.
This was West Ham's first win over City since 2015, ending a winless run which lasted for 12 head-to-head encounters.
Question is, what are the chances of West Ham pulling off another shock? Considering the bookmakers have priced the Irons at 8/1, there doesn't appear to be too much faith in David Moyes and his men.
That's understandable when you look at City's last few games. Guardiola's men entered the recent international break on the back of a dominant 2-0 victory over Manchester United.
A couple of weeks later, the Cityzens returned to league action in similar fashion as they tore Everton to shreds in a 3-0 win. Even PSG didn't stand a chance despite starting with a front three of Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
While the challenge ahead may look insurmountable for West Ham, they're not a team that can be easily underestimated. Just ask Liverpool.
Moyes and his men have suffered one defeat from nine and there's no reason why they couldn't give the defending Premier League champions a run for their money.
With that in mind, we're backing Man City to win by one goal at around the 14/5 mark.
Last three meetings
West Ham 0-0 (5-3 pens) Man City (Carabao Cup - October 27, 2021)
As previously mentioned, Manchester City dominated proceedings at the London stadium but still faced the agony of defeat in this round-of-16 Carabao Cup clash.
After a goalless 90 minutes, the match went to a penalty shootout. Phil Foden missed City's opening spot kick and that proved decisive as West Ham converted all five of theirs.
Man City 2-1 West Ham (Premier League - February 27, 2021)
Last time these two teams met at the Etihad it was the hosts who prevailed.
Ruben Dias scored the opener before Michail Antonio levelled things up before the break.
City found another breakthrough in the second-half as John Stones sealed the winner.
West Ham 1-1 Man City (Premier League - October 24, 2020)
Antonio was once again among the goals as West Ham held the Cityzens to a draw in London.
The Jamaica international scored in the 18th minute as Moyes' men went into the interval with a slight advantage.
The Irons were unable to hang on to their lead as Phil Foden's second-half effort earned the visitors a point.
Last 10 head-to-heads
Man City wins: 8
Draws: 1
West Ham wins: 1
Man City goals: 25
West Ham goals: 4
David Moyes a thorn in City's side
David Moyes has managed over 1,000 games throughout his managerial career and over the years, he has built an impressive record against specific clubs.
Interestingly, one of those teams is Manchester City. Moyes has faced the Sky Blues 34 times and boasts a record of 14 victories.
Moyes has only won more games against Fulham (18) than City - an impressive stat considering the Manchester outfit have been at the forefront of world soccer for the last decade.
Before Moyes' returned to the London stadium, the Irons were proverbial whipping boys whenever it came to playing against City. However, the last four encounters have all been closely contested.
With that in mind, we're backing West Ham to get on the scoresheet this Sunday.
High on quality, low on cards
One bet which stands out is the 21/20 offer in the under 2.5 cards market.
Manchester City against West Ham is not a fixture which has produced many bookings in recent encounters. In fact, there's only been five yellow cards across the last four fixtures.
Over the last six games, the Irons average one booking per game. City, meanwhile, average 1.5 across the same number of matches.
If stats are anything to go by, this bet certainly deserves consideration.
Goalscorer bets for Man City vs West Ham
Manchester City's lack of a 'proper' number nine has not seemed to impede their goalscoring prowess.
City have scored 25 goals in the Premier League - a total only bettered by Chelsea and Liverpool. So who is scoring all those efforts?
City's current top scorer in the league is Bernardo Silva who has four goals to his name. The Portugal international is currently priced at 12/5 to add to his total against West Ham.
There's no prizes for guessing who tops West Ham's goalscoring charts.
Michail Antonio has got six Premier League goals to his name and is currently the competition's fourth most dangerous forward - five goals behind golden boot favourite Mohamed Salah.
The 31-year-old is going through a dry spell at the moment having failed to net for West Ham in four outings.
However, the player did score twice for Jamaica on international duty and also has recent goalscoring history against Man City.
With that in mind, he's definitely worth a go at the current price.
