Manchester City vs West Ham (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head To Head, How To Watch

Manchester City turn their focus back to the Premier League title race as they face West Ham United after a Carabao Cup victory over Brentford granted Pep Guardiola’s side entry into the semi-finals. 

Savinho’s 67th-minute goal – courtesy of a pivotal deflection from Bees defender Kristoffer Ajer – added to Rayan Cherki’s stunning strike just outside the opening half an hour to continue City’s quest of winning a ninth edition of the competition.

City will now face Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in the first leg of the semi-final on January 13 before meeting at the Etihad Stadium in the reverse fixture 21 days later, having been outclassed by Eddie Howe’s men most recently in the North East last month. 

Since that defeat though, the club have run riot in trying to clinch a tight grip on the Premier League title race with domestic victories against Leeds United, Fulham, Sunderland and Crystal Palace. 

During that time, the Abu Dhabi-owned outfit also stole three points from Real Madrid in the Champions League — an impressive performance at the Bernabeu sunk the La Liga club and an increasingly unpopular Xabi Alonso after goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland cancelled out Rodrygo’s first-half opener. 

Sitting second in the English top-flight behind Arsenal, there is a possibility that City could reach the summit with a win over the Hammers before Mikel Arteta’s players face a tough away trip to Everton later that evening and if they lose, Pep Guardiola’s side could remain top at Christmas. 

The home side will take confidence into the West Ham clash given they are unbeaten in their last 19 league meetings with the East London club, while they pose the most home wins of any Premier League side since the beginning of April. 

To supplement that, Pep Guardiola has now led his side to six wins in a row which was only bettered between January and November 2023 when they won 15 consecutively. Unfortunately for West Ham and Nuno Espirito Santo, the festive period makes for much bleaker viewing. 

A five-game winless run means the Irons are still flirting with relegation in 18th place but will undoubtedly fight to bolster their chances of survival in the Premier League to save dropping down to the second tier for the first time in 15 years come the end of the season. 

Here is everything you need to know ahead of this weekend’s encounter!

Match Details

Manchester City face West Ham United at 15:00 (GMT) on Saturday 20 December at the Etihad Stadium. 

Match Officials

The Premier League has confirmed Paul Tierney will referee the game on Saturday, marking yet another occasion where the 44-year-old has officiated the Sky Blues. City are his most officiated club, and have won 27 times from the 31 games he has overseen. 

You can check the full list of match officials below!

Match Officials: Paul Tierney to referee Manchester City vs West Ham

Team News

While Pep Guardiola is set to revert to a much stronger side than what was fielded against Brentford in the week, there are a host of players still absent and a new addition to the treatment room in Oscar Bobb, who was forced off after 19 minutes in Wednesday’s game. 

The winger joins Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku and John Stones in trying to return as soon as possible while Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri left the City camp on Monday for international duty with Egypt and Algeria respectively at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Meanwhile, West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is still tending to a back injury with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf both missing out as they – like Marmoush and Ait-Nouri – are away at AFCON.

Both defenders’ absences could mean Espirito Santo stages a back-five with the potential for Oliver Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters to start. Former Wolves centre-back Max Kilman could also benefit from a change in formation to play alongside Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Press Conference Quotes

Pep Guardiola on West Ham: “We’re prepared… They drew at Old Trafford, Brighton away, we know perfectly how difficult they are. They lost at the end against Aston Villa, who look almost unstoppable right now. They have top class players. But at the same time, we’re ready!”

On the fact he has no players returning from injury: “We have a game tomorrow and after we have five days before Nottingham [Forest], Sunderland. Between Nottingham and Sunderland, maybe a few of them will start to be back. But for tomorrow, no.”

On his side’s impressive run: “We can do better. We had results, but there are a lot of things we have to do better. Still we are not in the position in the way we play that we should be. But, it helps the fact that the mentality and commitment is incredible – that helps us to be there!”

On Rayan Cherki: “Really good! Especially for his age, the personality he has. He’s a guy who plays like he was on the street. But I want to push him! I’ll not give too much compliments. But I’m really satisfied, we’re really satisfied, because his impact in the final third, in goals and assists in every game, is quite impressive. And we cannot forget he’s so young! He has the right mentality to be better, better, and better. But a few things have to improve.”

On Nico: “The position we’re in right now, without him it wouldn’t have been possible. Without [Mateo] Kova and especially Rodri, we don’t have a proper, proper replacement in that position. That’s why he recovers well, he’s young, and helps a lot! But he has margin to improve, and get better, especially with the ball. And we’re working on it.”

Head To Head

The last time these two sides met was at the start of the year when Manchester City prevailed in a dominant 4-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium, courtesy of an own goal from Vladimir Coufal, and a brace by Erling Haaland that was rounded off by Phil Foden just before the hour. 

In fact, victory has become a familiar sight for the Citizens, with West Ham failing to beat the eight-time Premier League champions since September 2015 when Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho got the Hammers off to a flying start in the opening 31 minutes. 

Since that victory, the Irons have never condemned Pep Guardiola’s side in the 21 meetings in all competitions since – losing the past six as the Sky Blues’ unprecedented force claimed a Treble and four Premier League titles in a row during that time. 

Manchester City have scored 18 goals across the last six meetings with West Ham, whereas the London club have only managed to net four times during that period, in the last four games. 

Statistics

West Ham travel to the Etihad Stadium having drawn their last three Premier League away games, while Manchester City pose a six-game winning run across all competitions. From a further viewpoint, Pep Guardiola’s side have come out victorious in 13 of their last 16 games. 

Defeat on Saturday would guarantee West Ham’s place in the relegation zone at Christmas and would represent a fifth time in the club’s history where they have been in the bottom three during the festive period.

Their supporters, however, will take some hope into the New Year from the fact that they’ve avoided relegation on the two previous occasions when they were not rock-bottom of the table, in the 2006-07 and 2009-10 campaigns. 

From their last 12 victories in all competitions, Manchester City have scored two or more goals and will look to extend that run through their potent attack, helped by the inclusion of their star striker Erling Haaland – who has scored 17 goals in the Premier League this season and 23 in 22 games in all competitions. 

How To Watch

Manchester City fans in the United Kingdom will not be able to watch the game due to the 3pm blackout but highlights will be available across Sky Sports’ YouTube and social media channels shortly after full time.

Viewers in the United States will be able to watch on NBC Sports – a full list of global TV listings can be found here.

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on X, Facebook and Instagram throughout the matchday, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk!