WEST HAM welcome Manchester City to the London Stadium on Saturday. Marcus Ally (@Marcus_Ally_4) oversees the Premier League encounter.
West Ham vs Manchester City | Saturday 24th October 2020, 12:30 | BT Sport
Buzzing from their improbable comeback at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, David Moyes’ Hammers will try their luck against a Manchester City side who have won the last 11 straight head-to-head meetings, on the early kick-off this Saturday.
Jubilant from scoring three goals from the 82nd minute onwards to rescue a point from North London, the spirit in the hosts’ camp will be optimistic of the challenge that lies ahead.
Pep Guardiola’s men grabbed an important 1-0 win against Arsenal last time out, their second clean sheet in three games, a much improved state of affairs having conceded six goals from their opening two games of the campaign. The 2019/20 runners up are strong favourites to continue their procession of victories over West Ham United.
No let-up from Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling’s creative output has dropped off slightly in the last two seasons, but in doing so has made way for the 25-year-old to become a prolific Premier League forward. Not typically thought of in the same breath as Eden Hazard or Fernando Torres who he has already surpassed in terms of league goals, now just 16 behind ‘household name’ Didier Drogba.
Furthermore he has slammed home 55 in the last three seasons combined, a tally that top end central strikers would be proud.
The England international has delivered four of City’s last five goals, coming in the last three and looks a great punt, odds against to score at anytime (11/10 Betfair).
The betting angles
Despite the gut wrenching and breathtaking Manuel Lanzini strike, which counted for 0.01 xG, a goal probability of one in 100, ruining my tip last weekend, siding with City and Both Teams To Score looks the way to go, just as it did with Spurs.
The Hammers have scored in 10 of their last 11 league outings and have created chances equating to 9.8 xG, the fourth most in the division so far, City sit 11th for that statistic.
Though Spurs deserve their plaudits for racing into a 3-0 lead inside 16 minutes, West Ham’s defending was desperate to say the least. A complete lack of concentration, as a player in Harry Kane, who is not blessed with great speed, managed to pull them all over the shop and drift into the area relatively untraced to bag the third.
City dispatched of the Hammers to an aggregate score of 7-0 last term, so it is a nice fixture as they look to climb back into the top four. Sterling scored a hat-rick in a 5-0 win at the London Stadium last August against a similar backline that will lineup on Saturday afternoon, expect goals.
City to cover the -0.75 Asian Handicap therefore appeals.
Best Bets
West Ham v Manchester City – Manchester City to Win and Both Teams to Score (13/10 Novibet)
West Ham v Manchester City – Manchester City -1.75 Asian Handicap (15/11 SportNation)
