Julen Lopetegui is under no illusions about the quality of Manchester City despite their recent form as West Ham prepare to visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
City ended their Premier League battle last time out with a 2-0 win over Leicester City, although the four-in-a-row champions are still sixth and 14 points behind leaders Liverpool.
The victory at Leicester marked just a second win in their last 14 games in all competitions, but Lopetegui knows City's good attitude regardless of their problems.
“Manchester City are one of the best teams in the world,” the West Ham boss said on Thursday. “You can talk about the last few weeks, but I know the quality of the team we are facing.
“It is a very good team, with very good players and a top coach, who have been playing with the same ideas for a long time. We are facing a very demanding match.”
“But we must focus on the strengths we have and believe that we are able to overcome these demands.
“We are trying to improve things whether we win, draw or lose games and we are working hard to be ready to play Manchester City at home on Saturday.”
Lanzini's beautiful late strike at the Etihad Stadium in 2021 pic.twitter.com/8o5FYoDif7
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 2, 2025
West Ham were trounced 5-0 by Liverpool on Sunday, leaving them 13th in the table heading into 2025 – and that loss was compounded by an injury to Jarrod Bowen.
“Let's see, but it won't last a few days for sure,” Lopetegui said of his captain and star player. “It's not good news for us, but it's the moment for other players.
“We are confident that Jarrod will take the time he needs to recover [as short as possible]because of his character, but it is true that he will be out for the next games.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City – Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland has scored seven goals in just five Premier League games against West Ham, so the Norwegian talisman will be keen to boost his chances here.
However, only one of those goals came at the Etihad, where Guardiola's side have not beaten Nottingham Forest since December 4.
Working on the weekend pic.twitter.com/qgy3pFqfQD
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 2, 2025
West Ham-Mohammed Kudus
Bowen's absence could see Mohammed Kudus shifted to the right side of Lopetegui's attack, a spot where he could pose a counter-attacking threat.
Kudus was one of the few to impress against Liverpool last time out, creating two chances and managing two shots – one of them against the woodwork of Alisson's goal.
MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN
The Opta supercomputer's pre-match predictions struggled to see beyond a home win, and that wouldn't be a surprise given this pair's head-to-head record.
Man City have won fourteen of their last fifteen home Premier League games against West Ham (L1), including the last eight in a row since a 2-1 defeat in September 2015.
Those last eight wins at the Etihad have all come under Guardiola, with only former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger having a better 100% home win rate against a league opponent (11/11 vs. Leicester City, 10/10 vs. Stoke City) .
It could be another dismal outing for the visitors, who are winless in their last 18 Premier League games against Man City overall. The Hammers have never had such a run against any team in their league history (including 18 against Liverpool between 1983 and 1994). .
West Ham have also conceded at least once in each of their last 24 Premier League games against Saturday's hosts. Only against Sunderland have they had a longer run without a clean sheet in their league history (25 between 1923 and 1968).
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Manchester City win – 68.3%
Draw – 17.2%
West Ham win – 14.5%
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