Manchester City vs West Ham United

Etihad Stadium forms the backdrop for a lopsided Premier League contest between champions-elect Manchester City and relegation-battling West Ham United.

A hard-fought 2-1 at Fulham last weekend put Manchester City in cruising control of their quest to land a third consecutive Premier League title for the first time in the club’s history, stretching their jaw-dropping unbeaten league streak to 11 games (W10, D1). Having reclaimed the top spot at the end of the last round, Pep Guardiola’s men intend to stay there by extending their mind-blowing run of 24 successive top-flight victories on a Wednesday (European time). West Ham could be the perfect victim to accommodate that scenario, with the ‘Citizens’ going unbeaten in their last 14 league H2Hs (W11, D3), including a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture in August 2022. It’s only a matter of how many goals they can score after finding the net in their last 30 Premier League outings at the Etihad, averaging 3.33 per game.

On the other hand, visiting West Ham United thought they had weathered the storm following a three-game unbeaten league streak in the first half of April (W2, D1) before a brace of high-scoring defeats to Liverpool and Crystal Palace drew them straight back into a relegation scrap. David Moyes’ lads start this round only four points clear of the red zone. Their hopes of widening that gap looks far-fetched despite a decent return of four points from their last three league travels (W1, D1, L1). Indeed, they’ve not fared well on the road this season, managing just three wins in 16 away league outings (D3, L10). Moreover, the ‘Hammers’ have taken home just one win from their 16 Premier League visits to the Etihad (D1, L14), failing to keep a clean sheet on each occasion.