Man City vs West Ham Picks and Predictions: KDB's Absence Hurts Offensive Opportunities

We’ve got a great pair of Premier League games on Wednesday with Manchester City vs. West Ham the pick of the bunch. Man City have the advantage in the Premier League title race, sitting just two points behind Arsenal but with two games in hand — but can they take advantage and reclaim that lead?

David Moyes’ side are at risk of being drawn into the relegation fight so they won’t be here to play second best. Don’t miss our Manchester City vs West Ham EPL picks and predictions.

Man City vs West Ham best odds

Man City vs West Ham picks and predictions

Despite Arsenal getting beaten by Man City and handing them the title advantage, it really feels like there could be a sting in the tail for Pep Guardiola’s men soon. Surely things can’t go that smoothly? Arsenal wrestled the Premier League top spot back from City by beating Chelsea 3-1 on Tuesday, putting them two points ahead with Man City having two games in hand.

West Ham are enjoying an exciting European campaign but they really need to be careful. They’ve lost two games on the spin and despite being 15th in the Premier League, they are just four points clear of the final relegation spot. West Ham really aren’t safe, and although their team feels too good to go down, they simply cannot afford to take any chances. That brings me to the best bet for this game, which is Under 3.5 goals at -125.

There are two reasons for this: firstly, David Moyes needs to get points... and against Manchester City, there is only one way to do it — play defense. West Ham have some talented players but they simply don’t have the ability to turn up at Etihad and try and play City off the pitch. Instead, Moyes will do what he’s always done against superior teams, he’ll get his team compact, sit deep, and frustrate them in hopes the likes of Michail Antonio can pick them off on the bounce.

The other reason I love this bet is Man City’s schedule. Their upcoming game against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real is all they’ll be thinking of and the club are desperate to finally win a European trophy.

I’d forgive Man City if they slightly underestimated their opponents here. West Ham haven’t been great this season and they should be able to win without breaking a sweat. However, it’s never that simple. I’m not suggesting West Ham will get a draw, let alone win, but I think they’ll keep it respectable. For those reasons, we’ll sit back on Wednesday and hope to see Under 3.5 goals.

My best bet: Under 3.5 goals (-125 at PointsBet)

Man City vs West Ham side analysis

Man City will be missing Nathan Ake and Kevin De Bruyne with injury, but that won’t be enough to damage their hopes of winning this game. We’ll see Kyle Walker on the right side of the defense as they alternate between a back three and four.

With De Bruyne out the team will have to rely on Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland for goals. Haaland’s brilliance goes without saying. He simply can’t stop scoring and has been breaking records with nearly every appearance and goal. Grealish has been sensational too, and since the mid-season break for the World Cup, he has been arguably Man City’s best player not named Haaland.

As mentioned, Coufal will be on the right side of David Moyes’ backline, with Aaron Cresswell on the left side and Nayef Aguerd and Angelo Ogbonna in the middle. Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will be key for West Ham’s hopes and should have a slightly easier day than usual against this team, given that De Bruyne is out injured.

Man City vs West Ham Over/Under analysis

Normally in this section, we look at the total goals market and the usual Over/Under 2.5 goals. However, given that our best bet for the game is Under 3.5 goals, we’ll focus on that instead.

Man City have seen Under 3.5 goals in exactly 50% of their Premier League games this season, although that data is a little misleading given that it’s just 31.2% at Etihad. That said, I’m still comfortable backing the Under given City’s upcoming schedule and everything we’ve seen from David Moyes in his managerial career. 

For West Ham, it’s a bet which really makes sense when you look at trends. There have been Under 3.5 goals in 72.7% of West Ham’s games in the league and 68.7% of those games away from the London Stadium. They know what it takes to grind out results away from home and despite some high-scoring games recently it’s easy to see this being kept close.

Man City vs West Ham game info

Man City vs West Ham key injuries

Man City: Nathan Ake CB (Out), Kevin De Bruyne CM (Out).
West Ham: Gianluca Scamacca STR (Out), Kurt Zouma CB (Out).

Man City vs West Ham recent form

Teams	Last five matches
Man City	W-W-W-W-W
West Ham	W-D-W-L-L

Man City vs West Ham weather

A dry but cloudy day in Manchester with temperatures around 50 degrees.

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