IT hasn't taken Manchester City long to click back into top gear and the Premier League champions will be looking to make it three wins from three when they head to London to take on new-look West Ham United.
Pep Guardiola's men made history last term by racking up a fourth successive title and the bookies have made them favourites to continue that record-breaking run.
A 2-0 win away to Chelsea on day one showed City were still the team to beat and they followed it up by routing Ipswich 4-1 at Etihad, with Erling Haaland's hat-trick bringing up one of Saturday's Super Singles.
West Ham United should provide a stiffer test than the Tractor Boys but they remain a work in progress after splashing out on so many summer signings.
There's also a new man in the dugout and Julen Lopetegui recorded his first win last weekend with a 2-0 triumph on the road at Crystal Palace.
Now the Spaniard faces a battle of wits with compatriot Guardiola and will need to find a way of knocking the champions out of their stride.
How the bookies view it: No stopping the champions
With Lopetegui's revolution still in the early stages, Betfred make the Hammers 6/1 outsiders for this one. Even the draw is pretty big at 18/5 and Manchester City's odds are tiny at 2/5.
Recent head to head: Hammers house of horror
West Ham beat Manchester City on penalties in the EFL Cup three years ago after a 0-0 draw but there hasn't been much else for their fans to cheer of late in this fixture. Since a 2-1 win at the Etihad in 2015, City have gone 19 games unbeaten against the Hammers in normal time.
Players to watch: Kudus the wild card
Mohamed Kudus is one of my favourites players to watch in the Premier League as he's always capable of producing a moment of magic. City's defence usually cough up a few chances and the winger is 4/1 for anytime scorer. Bet365 also price him at 11/8 just to have an effort on target and that looks good.
It's hard to look past Haaland for a Manchester City goal with the Norwegian flying out of the traps this season. He's just 4/6 for anytime scorer but the odds increase to 9/4 if you back him to break the deadlock.
Probable line-ups
Aaron Wan-Bissaka could be handed a starting debut in the league for West Ham after impressing off the bench against Palace last week. Manchester City should field the same side that routed Ipswich last time out, although returning hero Ilkay Gundogan may come back in from the start.
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Paqueta, Kudus, Bowen, Rodriguez, Soucek, Fullkrug.
Manchester City: Ederson, Dias, Gvardiol, Akanji, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Lewis, Haaland, Doku, Savinho.
Anything else catch the eye?
Although West Ham kept a clean sheet against Crystal Palace in their last league outing, it owed as much to poor finishing from the Eagles as good defending. It's hard to see the Hammers keeping City out but they should also get some joy at the other end.
Combining BTTS with over 2.5 goals only takes you to 83/100 in a Betfred bet builder but over 3.5 strikes is better at 11/10 while over 1.5 first-half goals pays the same price.
Tomas Soucek will be at the heart of the midfield battle and the towering Hammers star looks a bit overpriced at 4/1 to go in the book.
This English Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City will be played on Aug 31, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
