The reigning Premier League champions will travel south to open their 2022-23 campaign, as Manchester City will visit London Stadium on Sunday to square off with West Ham.
The hosts are hoping to improve on their finish from last season, while City will unleash star striker Erling Haaland on England’s top flight.
Can West Ham pull off an upset win over the Citizens, or will Manchester City extend their unbeaten streak over the hosts to 20 matches in all competitions?
Find out in our West Ham United vs. Manchester City picks and predictions for Sunday, August 7.
West Ham vs Manchester City match odds
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West Ham vs Manchester City betting tips
Predictions made on 8/6/2022 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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West Ham vs Manchester City game info
• Location: London Stadium, London, England
• Date: Friday, August 7, 2022
• Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
• TV: Peacock
West Ham vs Manchester City betting preview
Weather
It’ll be a gorgeous day in London for all to enjoy, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s. There is no chance of rain and a light breeze shouldn’t impact the play.
Injuries
West Ham: Gianluca Scamacca F (Out), Angelo Ogbonna D (Out), Issa Diop D (Doubtful), Nayef Aguerd (Out).
Man City: Aymeric Laporte D (Out), John Stones D (Out).
West Ham vs Manchester City predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Side analysis
After a seventh-place finish in the Premier League and a run to the Europa League semifinals last season, West Ham invested heavily into improving the depth of a squad that fizzled out down the stretch.
Striker Gianluca Scamacca was brought in from Sassuolo, while Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd was added as well. They also purchased the services of Maxwel Cornet from Burnley, further bolstering their attack.
David Moyes will have to wait a bit to integrate some of his new talents, as he stated this week that Aguerd will miss the match after injuring his ankle in a pre-season friendly and that Scamacca is not match-fit enough to participate on Sunday.
More worrying will be the injury issues in defense. He’s going to be without defender Angelo Ogbonna, and if Issa Diop is unable to return from the knock that kept him out of the friendly with Luton, it would leave West Ham with just one fit central defender for the match.
Manchester City claimed their fourth Premier League title in five years last season, but Champions League glory continues to evade Pep Guardiola and City’s ownership, which is why they made a few key changes this summer.
Forwards Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus were allowed to head to Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively, with defender Oleksandr Zinchenko joining the latter in North London. The funds from those sales were reinvested in midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Leeds, and the signing of young star striker Erling Haaland, who Pep hopes will solidify the striker position with a finishing consistency they’ve not had since Sergio Aguero’s prime.
City played just two preseason friendlies before their Community Shield defeat to Liverpool last Saturday, where they fell 3-1 and simply looked disjointed throughout. Haaland missed two big chances down the stretch, and it’s safe to assume rust played a key role. If they were facing a full-strength West Ham side, I’d be tempted to go with the hosts to pull out a result.
The fact that their defense will be so thin presents real problems against a City side that loves to interchange, and now has a physical striker in Haaland who can be ruthless if given any space. While he didn’t finish chances against Liverpool, the quality of the opportunities he was afforded against the likes of Virgil Van Dijk would be devastating for West Ham to concede.
No team scored more first-half goals than Manchester City’s 45 last season, with their +34 goal differential also tops among all 20 teams. Look for City to jump out in front and lead yet again at the break in this one, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne feeding chances to Haaland against an out-matched defense.
Prediction: Manchester City first-half moneyline (-120 at bet365)
Over/Under analysis
West Ham’s defense last season quite often picked the ball out of the back of their net on multiple occasions. Keeping just six clean sheets, they conceded two or more goals in nearly half of their matches on the campaign. In the final two weeks of the season, they conceded a total of five goals.
Two of those goals came from the visitors this weekend, as City had a 2-2 draw on the road after winning 2-1 earlier in the season.
The additions made this summer will help solidify that defense — but with the issues at center back, plus Haaland coming into the City side, this is a recipe for disaster for that back line.
Take City to score at least three before the final whistle blows.
Prediction: Manchester City team total Over 2.5 (+125 at DraftKings)
Best bet
We’ve talked a lot about West Ham’s defense, but City has a few problems of their own. While they will likely dominate possession, and the depth and star power they have going forward will prevent a ton of attacking from West Ham, their back line has a few issues as well.
Aymeric Laporte and John Stones are both out this weekend, meaning Nathan Ake will likely fill in at centerback position.
In City’s two preseason matches, as well as in the Community Shield, Ake was consistently targeted and exposed by opposing attacks.
Michail Antonio is a danger going forward, physical and fast, and I fully expect West Ham to employ a similar tactic to what City’s preseason opponents implemented. West Ham will have some solid chances to score, and I like them to find the back of the net at some point in the match.
As such, your best bet is to take both sides to find the scoresheet.
Pick: Both teams to score (-120 at DraftKings)
