Man City to start well against West Ham

Man City to start well against West Ham - Premier League predictions, team news, preview and betting tips

City must capitalize on Liverpool's slip when they meet Westham on Sunday in their premier league opener. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

West Ham vs Man City

London Stadium

4:30pm

The Hammers will welcome the champions Man City to the London Stadium in the final game of the opening weekend of the premier league and all eyes will be on new signing Erling Braut Haaland.

Gianluca Scamacca is unavailable for the hosts as he nurses a calf injury but West Ham can hope for more of the same from last season which saw them surge to the top of the log after their best ever topflight start in decades.

Liverpool dropped points at Fulham in a 2-2 draw while Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all won their opening games.

By the time the champions would walk out of the London Stadium tunnel on Sunday, Manchester United would have played Brighton and City could have more to catch up with.

Pep Guardiola will need to improve from the Community Shield game that saw Man city lose 3-1 to Liverpool.

But Guardiola’s record against David Moyes and West Ham is quite encouraging; the hosts must be wary of gaps and loose passes for them to stand any chance against the Cityzens.

City must dive into the market for a left back after the departure of Alex Zinchenko to Arsenal and with Marc Cucurella now settled in Chelsea, Guardiola must look elsewhere. 

West Ham lost Amadou Onana to Everton and must also look for a replacement for Mark Noble.

Declan Rice is very much likely to tuck into center back positions which would mean Pablo Fornals and Tomas Soucek will pair in the middle.

Michail Antonio is still the man upfront but the burst of Bowen and Benrahma from the flanks can trouble Man City.

Erling Haaland to score on his debut

Erling Haaland is expected to start and you can put your money on him to score.

No Sterling so mega signing Jack Grealish can enjoy the left flank but he’ll also be competing with Phil Foden. 

Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are sure starters and Cancelo will worry Hammers from the wing back.

City should win this one but the Hammers won’t lie there easily. 

Momentum is key and every game counts, it would be an entertaining evening for the neutrals.

Verdict: City to win.