MANCHESTER CITY will endeavour to make it nine Premier League wins in succession when they welcome West Ham United to the Etihad on Wednesday night.
The Citizens never really pressed the accelerator pedal when picking up a 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday, on an afternoon where Erling Haaland became the first player in 92 years to score 50 goals in a single season for an English top-flight club.
That Craven Cottage success also propelled Pep Guardiola's side to the top of the Premier League table for the first time in two months, although Arsenal could move back to the summit if they can claim top honours against Chelsea on Tuesday night.
City will therefore look to fill their end of the bargain by putting another three points on the board when they come up against West Ham United this midweek.
The Hammers' mini-revival has come grinding to a halt following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Crystal Palace – the latter of which saw me deliver a Selhurst Park clean sweep.
As such, David Moyes' side are still looking over their shoulder towards the relegation zone and it's going to be a very tall order for the capital club to come away with anything from this match.
Outright Betting
Manchester City, who boast the best home record in the Premier League this season, enter this Etihad encounter as heavy 1/5 (Bet 365) favourites.
West Ham United have fallen to defeat in 10 of their 16 top-flight road trips this term and the bookies' odds unsurprisingly suggest that trend is set to continue, with an away win trading at 14/1 (William Hill) while the draw is an unfancied 13/2 (UniBet).
Betting Angles
It goes without saying that Manchester City are too short to side with here so I'll head to Bet 365‘s Bet Builder market and merge Man City to Win, Man City to Score in the First Half and Erling Haaland to Score Anytime at 5/6 (Bet 365).
As already alluded to, Manchester City have hit a rich vein of form just in time for the business end of the season and with fixtures coming thick and fast, I suspect they will be keen to swat aside West Ham with the minimum of fuss.
Pep Guardiola's star-studded side have scored before the break in each of their last 11 Premier League matches and that sequence should continue against a West Ham side that had four fired past them at Crystal Palace last time out.
What's more, David Moyes' men tend to fall short when paying the Premier League's elite a visit, as evidenced by the fact that they have picked up a pitiful four points from a possible 81 on the road at the traditional top six under the Scotsman's stewardship
With a safety-first approach anticipated from the visitors here, I'm more than happy to back Man City to win and to strike at least once before the interval, but to round off the Bet Builder, I'll also back Erling Haaland to get in on the act.
The Norwegian sharpshooter has notched up seven strikes across his last five top-flight appearances, not to mention this particular 5/6 (Bet 365) combination would have clicked in each of those five contests.
On a similar line of reasoning to the above, I'll also go with the 17/20 on offer with William Hill for Manchester City to deliver Over 2.5 Team Goals.
The Sky Blues have banged in three or more goals in seven of their last 10 outings across all competitions and another trio of strikes should be within reach against a Hammers rearguard that has looked ropey all season.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United will be played on May 3, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
