Premier League, Manchester City VS West Ham: predictions and statistics

Another memorable Premier League match is waiting for us, on the 20th of December, when Manchester City will face West Ham United in order to obtain 3 more points in its chase of the title, which right now seems firm in Arsenal’s hands.

At least, so it appears by watching the current EPL table. There’s still time to change how things stand however, and the Citizens are certainly prepared to do just that, given their roster and ambitions.

Who is the favourite for the game?

This upcoming match is certainly loaded with expectations, with the Citizens currently third in the table, while we write, seven points behind Arsenal and one point behind Chelsea. The Hammers, on the other hand, are deep in the relegation zone and need an immediate turnaround to recover.

Everything seems to point to a victory for Erling Haaland and company. However, those looking to wager on a West Ham victory can find oddschecker's Skybet free bet offer, a bonus that gives bettors the chance to reduce losses and take advantage of the bonuses, in case they are new subscribers.

Manchester City is not playing at its best right now, as Chelsea and Arsenal are doing. The Londoners are deservingly before them on the table, because they are playing at an extremely high level. However, the Citizens shouldn’t have too many problems in handling this one. It’s football, though, and everything can happen.

Manchester City’s season

Pep Guardiola’s side is having mixed results. In the last 5 games they lost against Newcastle United and Aston Villa, even if they managed to defeat Liverpool; Bournemouth and Everton. 3 wins and 2 losses are not that bad, ok, but it must be noted that the wins arrived against two teams that are considerably sub-par to the Citizens and the Reds, who are in a deep identity crisis after losing six matches in the last seven.

Man City could do better but nothing is lost for the moment. They should simply find some rhythm and put some wins in a row to begin a positive streak that could bring them back just where they would like to be.

West Ham’s conditions

The Hammers are not ok. They occupy the 17th position and are tied with Leeds United at 11. It means that they are only a position away from relegation, simply because their scoring difference is better than Leeds’ one and they were winners of the direct clash.

West Ham is lacking in a lot of areas and this is a great flaw in a tournament as difficult and as competitive as the English Premier League. The team must win a couple of games to move far away from the bottom of the table and regain some confidence in its means.

Statistics from the previous meetings

In recent match-ups, the Citizens usually imposed themselves. In the last 39 games between Man City and West Ham, the light-blue team won 29 times. The Hammers triumphed only 3 times and there were 7 draws. The difference in scoring tells the story of a dominant run by the Citizens, who scored 96 goals against West Ham’s 27.

Translating wins and losses in percentile, City won 74% of the time. This is the reason why Guardiola and his lads are heavy favourites to win this clash. The performance gap is larger when games are played at Etihad Stadium. This will be the case also this time.

What about Foden’s future?

Phil Foden’s future is still in jeopardy while we write. His contract expires in 2027 but he would like to stay. Manchester City stated that they would like to extend him and keep the talented player around for longer. There is no reason not to, after all. Foden is 25 and playing at a very high level. The club is keen on rewarding him and avoiding a possible departure.