Will the Sky Blues take the butter off their bread?

Manchester City could make history on Sunday. Never before has a team in English soccer’s top flight managed to win the league title four times in a row. The Sky Blues simply need a win to do so, provided the Gunners also pick up a three-pointer against Everton in the parallel match as expected. The betting on Manchester City beating West Ham at home is under a good star. Guardiola’s side have not lost at home in 29 Premier League home games this season (23 wins, six draws)

With the Hammers, they now face an opponent who, in the final spurt of the season in ninth place in the table, have squandered all chances of reaching Europe and have recently been embarrassed twice in a row away at Crystal Palace (2:5) and Chelsea (0:5). If Manchester City win against West Ham and the Sky Blues score at least five goals, the Hammers will be the first club since Blackburn Rovers (1965) to lose three consecutive away games in the top flight of English soccer and concede at least five goals in the process

However, West Ham United have a respectable record against top teams. When the Irons have met the current leaders, they have lost only two of their last six Premier League games (two wins, two draws). However, the Etihad Stadium has rarely been a good place for the Londoners, who have lost 15 of their last 17 Premier League games here (one win, one draw). We therefore expect the Hammers to be looking to limit the damage first and foremost.

If City then take a 2-0 lead, it could pull the plug on the game completely. In our opinion, a goal spectacle on the 38th matchday of the Premier League is not to be expected, which is why we place the greatest value in the bet that a maximum of four goals will be scored. A coherent alternative, which can be played at odds of 1.75 at sportwetten.de, is the bet that the Sky Blues will score a maximum of three goals.

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Manchester City, as defending champions, were beaten on penalties by record winners Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Apart from that, however, the 2023/24 season went very smoothly for the Sky Blues, who are just one home win away from making history.

If the Citizens can hold on to their two-point lead over Arsenal FC, they would become the first English club ever to win four league titles in a row. The record clearly speaks in favor of Guardiola’s team. In the 32-year history of the Premier League, never before has the team that went into the 38th matchday as leaders gone on to lose the title

Manchester City is an absolute home power

The odds for Manchester City against West Ham are still clearly in favor of the home team. After all, the club that won the treble last summer is incredibly strong at home. The Sky Blues are the only team in the Premier League not to have lost a single one of their 18 home games in league action in the 2023/24 season (13 wins, five draws).

The Citizens have not lost in 29 Premier League home games this season (23 wins, six draws). A record that reads just as positively against West Ham United. In the last 17 Premier League home games against the Hammers, they have won 15 (one draw, one defeat)

Manchester City have not lost since the beginning of December

The Sky Blues are also in incredible form overall. They have not lost a single one of their last 22 Premier League games, most recently recording eight wins in a row in a tight three-way battle with Arsenal and Liverpool to claim a maximum haul of 24 points out of a possible 24. The Citizens have not lost a single one of their 27 competitive matches in the 2024 calendar year (22 wins, five draws).

Their last defeat came in early December away at Aston Villa (0:1). It is therefore difficult to imagine that Guardiola’s team, who recently came through their complicated visit to Tottenham unscathed (2-0) and have conceded just one goal in their last six competitive matches, will let the butter be taken off their bread.

Predicted Manchester City line-up:

West Ham – Statistics & current form

West Ham United have experienced a huge upturn in fortunes in recent years, thanks in part to David Moyes. In the Premier League, the Londoners have always been among the frontrunners, while in the Europa League they reached the semi-finals in 2022 and the quarter-finals in 2024. In between, they won the Conference League in the summer of 2023.

Nevertheless, there were also downsides. In the Premier League, the Irons will finish ninth in the final table regardless of the outcome of the game at Manchester City, meaning they will not be represented in Europe next season. That is likely to result in a minor shake-up

Moyes’ last game for West Ham

It is clear that David Moyes is quitting. While there have been adventurous rumors about Thomas Tuchel, who could possibly bring Marco Reus to London’s East End on a free transfer, Julen Lopetegui is currently considered a hot candidate to succeed him.

Before that, however, the Irons must finish the current season well. They recently suffered two embarrassing away defeats at Crystal Palace (2:5) and Chelsea (0:5). Not since Blackburn Rovers (1965) has a team in the top flight of English soccer lost three away games in a row and conceded at least five goals. The objective for the 38th matchday is therefore clear: to avoid another defeat in Manchester

West Ham can certainly hold their own against top teams

Basically, we think that the betting tip for Manchester City against West Ham is that there will only be a difference of two or at most three goals in the expected away defeat. After all, if the focus is right, the Hammers know how to defend.

The Irons also have no undue respect for top teams, something that not only Bayer Leverkusen felt in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final (final score: 1-1), but also many a Premier League leader. When the Londoners clashed with the current leaders, they lost only two of their last six Premier League games (two wins, two draws). There is no doubt that the Hammers will not be traveling to the industrial city in the north-west of the country to stand guard over the Sky Blues in their bid to win the title…

Predicted West Ham line-up:

Manchester City – West Ham head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Head to head: 63 – 19 – 38

There have been a total of 120 meetings between the two teams so far and the direct comparison speaks for itself. With 63 wins, more than half of all competitive matches have gone to Manchester City. The Sky Blues not only won the first leg in London 3:1, but have also remained unbeaten in 16 Premier League matches against West Ham United (13 wins, three draws).

Manchester City – West Ham betting tip

With maximum clarity, the betting odds for Manchester City against West Ham are in favor of the home-strong Sky Blues, who are unbeaten in 29 Premier League home games this season (23 wins, six draws). Everything is set for a fourth championship in a row. It seems highly unlikely that the Hammers, of all teams, who have recently suffered two consecutive away defeats, could disrupt the celebrations in any way.

An early 1-0 lead for the Sky Blues is very realistic and they will certainly do everything in their power to add to their tally and pull the plug on the Hammers. From then on, the visitors could play damage limitation and let the game slowly fade away. Therefore, the prediction that a maximum of four goals will be scored in Manchester City v West Ham offers a lot of value