- Date and Time: Saturday, January 4, 2025. 15:00 GMT+1
- Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
Man City vs West Ham Preview
Man City
Pep Guardiola would have breathed a sigh of relief after Manchester City’s winless run ended against Leicester earlier this week. However, the champions are still miles away from competing for the title this term. They’re racing against time to finish in a Champions League position.
Despite bouncing back to winning ways, City still gave up a lot of chances against Leicester. A better team would likely have stopped the champions from claiming maximum points. That was shown by the xG metric, with Manchester clocking a 1.58 and scoring twice, while the Foxes had an xG of 1.84.
Working towards the weekend 👊 pic.twitter.com/qgy3pFqfQD
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 2, 2025
Outsourcing their xG has been an issue for City throughout the season. They’ve scored just 26 goals from an open play metric of 28.89. They will once again have to rotate their squad, as Ederson is expected to miss the game. Rúben Dias and John Stones are both out injured.
West Ham
Julen Lopetegui continues to bat away questions surrounding his long-term future. The Hammers continue to sit nearer to the relegation places than they do the European spots.
West Ham’s unbeaten run was ended in poor fashion in their latest outing, as they couldn’t even lay a glove on Liverpool at the London Stadium. For the second game in five, the Hammers registered an xG metric of under 1.0. They struggle in the final third without an in-form number nine following the injury sustained by Michail Antonio.
Lopetegui on Jarrod Bowen 🗣️#TalkingPoint with @LycamobileUK 📞 pic.twitter.com/cYP7sAgEmo
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 2, 2025
Jarrod Bowen has carried the majority of the heavy lifting after netting five in 19 this season, but the England international is a concern for West Ham this weekend. The Hammers will at least need to be more defensively structured. They have conceded 26 goals from an xGA of 33.21.
Bet hereMan City vs West Ham Prediction
- Pick: Man City to Win
- Odds: 1.31 (22Bet)
- Score prediction: Man City 3-1 West Ham
Despite their well-documented issues at both ends of the field, Manchester are too hard to overlook this weekend when making predictions. The champions looked back to somewhere near their best in the final third on Sunday, as Erling Haaland was again amongst the goals.
Meanwhile, City’s head-to-head record is key reading as they’ve won 14 of their last 15 against West Ham at the Etihad. That includes eight successive wins since a shock loss in September 2015.
Man City vs West Ham Prediction, Betting Tip
- Pick: Both teams to Score
- Odds: 1.58 (22Bet)
Manchester are no longer the force of old in a defensive regard, and they have conceded xGAs of over one in four of their last five. Their opposition have quality on the counter, even in the absence of Bowen.
Mohammed Kudus caused problems for City in both matches last season, meaning that there could be value in the betting to side with both teams to score.
The goals are being shared around Manchester this season. There could be merit in Savinho backing up his best performance by finding the back of the net again on Saturday. The Brazilian scored against Leicester and has now accumulated an xG of 2.44 from his 2.78 average shots per 90.
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