EPL: City set to extend unbeaten run

Man City vs. West Ham
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Kick off: 1:30PM

Manchester City will be looking to make it 20 straight wins in all competitions when they continue their Premier League campaign at home to top-four chasing West Ham United this afternoon.

The Citizens made it 19 straight victories with a 2-0 success away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday night, while West Ham will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 home success over Tottenham Hotspur in the league last weekend.

City found it difficult to reach their top level in the opening months of the 2020-21 campaign, but Pep Guardiola’s side have been on a winning run in all competitions since the middle of December.

Indeed, since being held at home by West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on December 15, the Citizens have posted 19 straight wins in all competitions, including 13 in England’s top flight, which has seen them rise to the top of the division and open up a 10-point advantage over second-placed Manchester United.

Guardiola’s team recorded a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the league last weekend before winning 2-0 away to Monchengladbach in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash on Wednesday, which has left them in an excellent position to reach the next round of the competition.

It is difficult to see where the next defeat is coming from for City, and they could effectively wrap up the title if they manage to triumph in their next two in the league against West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers and then overcome bitter rivals United at the Etihad Stadium on March 7.

The Citizens have the best home record in England’s top flight this term, picking up 29 points from 12 matches, while they have not lost to West Ham in the Premier League for almost six years.

West Ham will be the underdogs this afternoon as they travel to the runaway leaders, but the Hammers are in desperate need of the points as they battle to secure an unlikely top-four finish.

An excellent campaign to date has seen David Moyes’s side collect 45 points from their 25 matches to occupy fourth position in the table, just four points behind second-placed Man United.

The Hammers are only two points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, though, and sit just five points clear of seventh-placed Everton, who have a game in hand, indicating that plenty could change in the coming weeks.

West Ham will arrive at the Etihad Stadium full of confidence, having won three of their last four in the Premier League, including a 2-1 home success over Tottenham last time out.

Moyes’s team have been excellent at the London Stadium this term, boasting the second best home record in the division, but they have dropped points in half of their 12 away league fixtures, losing at Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea this season.

Man City possible XI: Ederson, Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Mahrez, Sterling, Foden.

West Ham possible XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Fornals, Lingard, Antonio.