Seeking to make it three wins out of three at the start of the new Premier League season, reigning champions Manchester City travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.
The Citizens have done the double over the Hammers in the last two seasons and secured a 3-1 victory the last time that they locked horns in the capital almost a year ago.
Match preview
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After beginning his reign as West Ham manager with a 2-1 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa, Julen Lopetegui celebrated his first triumph last weekend as his new-look Hammers side secured a 2-0 victory away against Crystal Palace.
Following a goalless first half, Tomas Soucek opened the scoring on the 67-minute mark, five minutes before captain Jarrod Bowen added a second, and the Hammers went on to keep their first Premier League clean sheet since January, ending a 19-game run without a shutout.
West Ham have since progressed to the third round of the EFL Cup after edging past fellow top-flight side Bournemouth by a 1-0 scoreline at the London Stadium on Wednesday night, albeit in fortunate circumstances as their 88th-minute winner would presumably have been disallowed if VAR had been in use, as Mohammed Kudus's shot bounced off Bowen's arm before making the net ripple.
Lopetegui's side have been rewarded with a tricky third-round trip to holders Liverpool next month, but they will first turn their attention back to the Premier League, with a challenging home encounter against Man City followed by an away clash with Fulham.
Success over Man City has been hard to come by for West Ham, as they have failed to win any of their last 17 Premier League meetings with the Citizens since a 2-1 away victory in September 2015 under former boss Slaven Bilic.
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Man City have been relatively slow starters under Pep Guardiola in recent years, but they have already bagged the Community Shield and have picked up maximum points from their opening two Premier League matches this term, scoring six goals and conceding only one.
Four of those top-flight goals have been scored by leading marksman Erling Haaland, winner of the Golden Boot in the last two seasons, who followed up his strike in a 2-0 opening win at Chelsea with his 10th Man City hat-trick in a 4-1 home victory over newly-promoted Ipswich Town last weekend.
The Tractor Boys had a dream start at the Etihad Stadium as Sammie Szmodics scored on his full debut inside the opening seven minutes, but that strike poked the bear and the visitors were emphatically punished by the defending champions, who hit back with three goals in just four minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne netted in between two strikes from Haaland, before the Norwegian completed his hat-trick in the closing stages to ensure that City extended their impressive record run of Premier League wins by two or more goals to 11 games; they have also not lost any of their last 46 home matches in all competitions.
Man City also boast a strong record away against Saturday's opponents West Ham as they have lost just one of their last 14 league visits to the Hammers and are unbeaten in their last nine since a 2-1 defeat at Upton Park in October 2014.
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Team News
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West Ham boss Lopetegui has revealed that experienced left-back Aaron Cresswell is nursing a hamstring injury and will undergo a scan to determine the severity of his injury.
Edson Alvarez was handed his first Hammers start in midweek since pulling his hamstring on international duty with Mexico at the Copa America in June, and the midfielder is in contention to retain his place in the first XI; Soucek, Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse will also be battling for a start in midfield.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka put in a man-of-the-match display at left-back against Bournemouth, but he could move over to his favoured right-back role as Emerson Palmieri is expected to be recalled along with Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and potentially Michail Antonio, who will hope to replace Niclas Fullkrug up front.
As for Man City, Oscar Bobb is facing several months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a fractured leg, while Rodri remains a fitness doubt but has returned to training this week, so he could be involved in some capacity at the London Stadium.
Phil Foden missed the win over Ipswich through illness, but he is expected to recover in time to play on Saturday, and the same can be said for Mateo Kovacic, who picked up a knock last weekend.
Kyle Walker and John Stones will be pushing to start in defence, although Guardiola may be tempted to stick with Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol in his back four, while winger Savinho and Jeremy Doku could retain their places in the first XI ahead of Jack Grealish.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Bernardo; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
We say: West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City
Man City have scored more away goals against West Ham than they have against any other Premier League opponent (42), while their 25 goals at the London Stadium is the most that an away team has scored at a specific venue since its opening in 2016-17, so the Citizens have every right to feel confident of success on Saturday.
West Ham have attackers of their own who could cause Man City some problems, but it is difficult to back against the champions outscoring their opponents en route to a comfortable victory in the capital.
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Oliver Thomas
