Manchester City vs West Ham United comes into the limelight of the Premier League as two teams clash on the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening in a match that has an element of importance on both ends of the table. City, in second place, receives an 18 th -placed West Ham team who are in dire need of momentum in the game as the season enters a decisive stage.
Manchester City vs West Ham United comes with a team of Pep Guardiola enjoying a six-match winning streak in all events, and strengthening their title aspirations amid an increasingly long injury list. West Ham, however, have not won a league game since their last five games, and are already in the relegation section, after a series of devastating losses.
The game will take place on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. City are also dominant at home, and West Ham have not won a league game at this ground since September 2015.
Guardiola has to cope once again with the loss of some of his main players, such as Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, and Jérémy Doku because of the persistent fitness problems. Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are not available on the international duty, which reduces the possibility of rotating in the middle field and around the wings.
Those absences notwithstanding, City should form in a flexible 4-3-2-1 formation with Erling Haaland in the forward position, having scored well domestically. Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva will offer creativity on the back side of the striker, with Ruben Dias leading the defense unit.
West Ham is also contending with the unavailability of great magnitude before the journey to the north. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are still on international duty, with Lukasz Fabianski on the sidelines due to his injury.
Nuno Espirito Santo will probably implement a small 4-3-1-2 formation with the intention of restricting the amount of possession that City has. Jarrod Bowen is also a major threat since he has scored in two successive games with the assistance of Lucas Paquetá, who plays in between the lines.
The hosts have a heavy bias in recent history, with City winning the previous 16 out of 19 meetings between the two sides in the Premier League. Their latest meeting saw City win 4 1 in January 2025, highlighting the point of a gap West Ham has to fill.
Their success in the competitions has been supported by the recent victories of City over Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Real Madrid. West Ham, in the meantime, have drawn with Brighton and Manchester United, and lost to Liverpool and Aston Villa.
In the case of Manchester City vs. West Ham United, there are implications at the bottom and top of the table. City are keen to keep pressure in the title race, whereas West Ham have another test of fire to pass as they struggle to get out of the relegation zone.
Also read this:
https://bangtheworld.com/tottenham-vs-liverpool/
