Manchester City v West Ham Betting Preview – Sunday 28 August

City to coast home

Premier League Tips

Sunday 28th August 2016 Kickoff: 1600
Manchester City v West Ham United
Football – England – Premier League

It has been very contrasting starts to the season for these two clubs and a role reversal of last season when Manchester City were desperately disappointing and West Ham were like a breath of fresh air. The early sings (admittedly very early signs) suggest that City will be much more like the dominant force that we expect considering their resources whilst the Hammers may well find themselves competing at a much more modest level than they were used to in the last campaign. The two clash at the Etihad on Sunday in what will be the final game of the third round of Premier League fixtures.

The excitement surrounding the appointment of Pep Guardiola has been palpable for a while in the blue half of Manchester which should come as no surprise considering the track record of City’s new head coach. Maximum points from their first two games and progression to the group stages of the Champions League with consummate ease has only added to the good feeling around the club but there will be much tougher challenges lying ahead and will test the resolve and character of this new look Manchester City team. The next test comes in the shape of a West Ham team whom they failed to beat last season. The inconsistencies and below par performances that blighted Manuel Pellegrini’s final season in charge appear to be a thing of the past but with Sunday’s match being the final game before the close of the transfer window and the first international break of the new season, Guardiola and his players will be looking to go into that period on a high – and top of the table if possible.

West Ham supporters were looking forward to this season with a huge among not of optimism after finishing seventh last season and because they would be moving into the Olympic Stadium. We are not even out of August yet and those same supporters are beginning to get frustrated due to what has been happening on and off the park. Their opening two league games have probably went as you would have expected, results wise, with an opening weekend loss away to Chelsea followed by a win at home to Bournemouth last time out. It has been the performances that have been the biggest concern, though, as Slaven Bilic’s troops have struggled to find any attacking threat. That is in large part to the injuries that are mounting up with Andy Carroll and club record signing Andre Ayew joining Manuel Lanzini on the sidelines. Most notably, however, is the absence of Dmitri Payet who was so often the difference maker last term. Having enjoyed a great European Championships with his country France during the summer, Payet has been unable to find full fitness and made just one appearance off the bench thus far. Although Lanzini and Payet are close to a return, neither are expected to play any part on Sunday, further diminishing any hopes the Hammers had of getting a result.

Guardiola is renowned for his unorthodox tactics and the early signs at City have been no different. Playing with four attacking midfielders/wingers and utilising Aleksandar Kolarov as a centre back are just a couple examples of how he has set his early teams up as he attempts to play as much of the game in the opposition’s half as possible. As we have seen with both Barcelona and other Spanish teams, though, there are ways to counter that and Guardiola has to prove that his methods are fluid enough to successful at the highest level – something that eluded him with Bayern. One thing City’s fans can be sure of, though, is getting plenty of entertainment under the new boss as evidenced by their tally of 12 goals in their four competitive games thus far.

In between the two league games West Ham have already had their European participation for the season ended by the same team who knocked them out 12 months ago. The Hammers exited the Europa League before the group stage for the second straight season to Romanian outfit Astra on Thursday night, limping to a humiliating 1-0 defeat. That loss only adds to the frustration amongst the West Ham fans and with so many injuries in their attack it is unlikely they will go into the international break with too much to shout about after Sunday’s trip to Manchester. On a more positive note the club have signed Simone Zaza but he too will not be considered for selection tomorrow.

Manchester City v West Ham United Betting Tips

West Ham will be hoping to repeat their winning visit 12 months ago when they were excellent and fully deserved their 2-1 win. That success came on the back of another away day victory against Arsenal meaning the mood and confidence of the team would have been considerably higher than what it will be ahead of tomorrow’s game. It may sound like an overreaction considering it will only be the third league game of the new season but they are lacking so much in attack and their defence has looked ropey when tested as well.

City, on the other hand, are riding the crest of the wave at the moment and with the addition of Nolito has added another dimension to their attack, ably supporting Sergio Aguero in terms of goals which was badly lacking last season. I expect this to be something of an exhibition for the home team and would be extremely surprised if this ends anything other than a comfortable home win. Despite not being at their best against Sunderland in their first home game of the season, City dominated possession and that will be similar on Sunday. West Ham will try and sit deep to frustrate their opponents but they’re not good enough to do that in my opinion and City can further demonstrate their impressive start to the new campaign.

Man City -1 4/5 @ Stan James