All eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Manchester City bid to become the first team to win the Premier League 2023/2024 for four successive seasons. The equation is simple as Pep Guardiola’s side simply need to beat West Ham at home to wrap up another title success as they lead Arsenal by two points heading into the final day.
The Hammers will finish ninth in the table whatever happens in their last game, but will be out to send shockwaves through the football world if they can upset City in David Moyes’s final match as manager. The tension level will be high at kick-off but City’s stars should be up to the task in their bid to make history.
City have the composure to avoid a last-day shock
Manchester City’s 2-0 win against Tottenham on Tuesday night could prove to be the crucial result of their battle with Arsenal for the Premier League title. The champions would have been underdogs for the title heading into the 38th game if they had failed to win in London but they clung on to a 1-0 lead through a second-half Erling Haaland goal for 39 tense minutes before the Norwegian star was able to add a second from the penalty spot.
Now they just need to win one more match at home against ninth-placed West Ham, who have nothing tangible to play for. The Citizens have not lost at home this season, although they have been held to five draws, but they have displayed a ruthless streak in recent matches and should have the quality to get over the line against the Hammers.
City have won three of their last five matches by four-goal margins, overcoming Brighton 4-0, Wolves 5-1 and Fulham 4-0, although 2-0 scorelines were sufficient to pick up three points against Nottingham Forest and Spurs. A wide-margin victory in the finale is anticipated by the odds, but 3-0 is an appealing correct-score option.
The Hammers beat relegated Luton 3-1 in their last match but that result snapped a six-match winless run for them and looks likely to be outgoing manager David Moyes’s final victory with the club.
Early strike should settle any nerves for home side
It took City until the second half to break the deadlock at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but they had struck before the interval in their previous seven Premier League games since the goalless draw with Arsenal and should not take long to get on the scoreboard.
City have scored in the first 15 minutes of their recent league games against Fulham, Wolves, Luton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, but they took slightly longer to find the net at Brighton (17) and Nottingham Forest (32).
A first-goal time of 21-30 minutes looks fair value for this game at 4.10. West Ham have conceded early goals against Luton (6), Chelsea (15), Crystal Palace (7) and Fulham (9) but there were no goals for 43 minutes in their game against Liverpool. They will likely set out to stay competitive for as long as possible and could see out the first 20 minutes successfully.
Corner count set to rise at the Etihad
City look set to attack relentlessly if they don’t get a comfortable early lead and that should see them awarded plenty of corners at the Etihad. Guardiola’s team alone racked up 15 corners in their Champions League second leg against Real Madrid when they were pressing for a breakthrough and a similar scenario could unfold if they are frustrated early on.
There have been at least 13 corners in each of West Ham’s last three matches and expecting a flag-kick count in double figures seems sensible.
Premier League 2023/2024: Manchester City v West Ham tips
Manchester City to win 3-0 correct score @ 5.35 with kwiff
First goal 21-30 minutes @ 4.10 with kwiff
Over 9.5 corners @ 1.78 with kwiff
By Adam Scriven
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