Manchester City face a tough first test of their Premier League title defense at West Ham this weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s side came two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw when these two teams met in London in the penultimate game of last season.
The result proved instrumental in City winning a second successive title the following weekend by finishing a point above Liverpool.
And City look well placed to challenge for a hat-trick after adding Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips to their superstar squad.
West Ham v Man City: Date and time
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday August 7.
The match at the London Stadium will start at 4:30 p.m.
West Ham v Man City: TV Channel and Live Stream
This game will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with live coverage from 4pm.
Sky Sports customers can stream this live through the app using their mobile devices, tablets or computers.
Alternatively, you can buy a Sky Sports Day Pass from NowTV for £9.99.
Updates will also be live on talkSPORT throughout the afternoon.
To tune into talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 via the website click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen through the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
West Ham v Man City: Team news
The hosts will have to wait to see new striker Gianluca Scamacca in action, so Michail Antonio should feature in attack.
Nayef Aguerd, his summer partner, remains on the sidelines due to injury while Angelo Ogbonna is not yet fit to return.
As for City, Haaland is set to start his Premier League debut with another new signing, Julian Alvarez, who could also be involved.
Aymeric Laporte remains out after undergoing knee surgery but Guardiola otherwise has no new injury concerns to contend with.
West Ham v Man City: What was said?
Guardiola: “Never at the start do you think of winning the championship. We don’t need perspective to see what we have done is huge. How the players move.
“The rivals, mainly Liverpool, we have won four in six years, we are incredibly proud. I would like to say loud and clear how good we have done.
“We travel to London tomorrow and play a good game at West Ham, we always struggle at the start of the season.
“We try to avoid it, we have long weeks of preparation, every week we improve. Be competitive, be consistent. I know what we can do.
“We want to take the next step in the way we play and it’s the desire to do that.”
West Ham v Man City: Facts of the game
- New Man City signing Erling Haaland has been involved in seven goals in his last three games played on the opening weekend of a league season – one assist with Red Bull Salzburg in 2019-20, two goals with Borussia Dortmund in 2020-21 and two goals and two assists with Dortmund last season.
- Man City striker Erling Haaland could be the seventh Norwegian to score on his Premier League debut, and the third to do so in the opener of a season (Tore Andre Flo in 1997-98, Adama Diomande in 2016-17). His father – Alf Inge Haaland – made 181 Premier League appearances between 1994 and 2001, the last coming for Manchester City against West Ham United in April 2001.
- Man City’s Jack Grealish has been involved in five goals in his six Premier League appearances against West Ham (3 goals, 2 assists), including four in his last four – against any team he hasn’t been involved in more (also 5 against Liverpool).
- Manchester City have lost just one of their last 28 Premier League games (W23 D4) and are unbeaten in their last 12 (W9 D3). The Citizens are also unbeaten in their last 18 away games (W14 D4), with their only loss on the road last season in London on the opening weekend (0-1 against Tottenham).
- West Ham have won just one of their last seven Premier League games (D2 L4), with that win coming at relegated Norwich in May (4-0). The Hammers are winless in their last nine Premier League games against the defending champions (D2 L7), since a 1-0 win over Chelsea in December 2017.
- Manchester City lost 1-0 to Spurs in their league opener last season, meaning the reigning top-flight champions have lost their opener in three of the last six seasons (W3) , having gone undefeated in 26 consecutive seasons between 1990-91 and 2015-16 prior to this run.
- After losing their first Premier League game in five consecutive seasons between 2016-17 and 2020-21, West Ham won 4-2 at Newcastle last term. They last started their league season with back-to-back wins in 2012-13 (1-0 v Aston Villa) and 2013-14 (2-0 v Cardiff).
- Only Tottenham (38) have lost more Premier League games against the defending champions than West Ham (36). Meanwhile, of all the teams that have played more than 20 such games in the competition, only Aston Villa (7.4%) and West Bromwich Albion (7.7%) have a lower win rate than the Hammers (9.6% – won 5/52).
- Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League meetings with West Ham (W10 D3), only against Fulham (14) they currently enjoy a longer unbeaten run against elite sides in 2022-23.
- West Ham United faced Manchester City three times in their first top-flight game of the season, losing all three and scoring zero (conceded 11).
The Premier League is back and talkSPORT has it covered, with games on Friday, Saturday and Monday, starting with Crystal Palace against Arsenal on August 5
Weekend Deals
Sky Bet: 50/1 for a shot on target in Crystal Palace v Arsenal* – CLAIM HERE
Paddy Power: Bet £5 via the talkSPORT EDGE app with Paddy Power and get a £5 free bet – available to all customers* – CLAIM HERE
Sky Bet: Over 2.5 goals in each of 6 Premier League games on Saturday August 6 (was 33/1) @ 40/1 – CLAIM HERE
Sky Bet: NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. MIN/MAX BET £1. FREE BETS CREDITED IN ADDITION TO WINNINGS. FREE BETS CREDITED WITHIN 72 HOURS. 5 BET TOKENS OF £10. FREE BET SETS NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS CANNOT BE USED ON VIRTUALS. FREE BETS ARE NOT WITHDRAWN. NO FREE BET EXPIRATION. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY.
Paddy Power: Place a bet on £5 sports betting via the talkSPORT EDGE app between 1st and 31st August. Get a €5 free bet on the Monday following your qualifying bet. Terms and conditions apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org
SEE MORE FREE BET OFFERS HERE