Premier League: City’s Title Charge Heads to London

West Ham United vs Manchester City

The 2022 Premier League title race is entering its final run-in, which is turning in to a sprint for the line between holders Manchester City and 2020 champions Liverpool.

With two games to go, Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues have a three-point lead over the Reds, and so four points from their remaining two fixtures will bring the title back to the Etihad Stadium for a fourth season in five.

And now they are destined for the London Stadium where they will meet David Moyes’ West Ham who were recently dumped out of the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt, but still in with a chance of European Football in the 2022/23 campaign.

Both teams come into the game on the back of thumping four-goal wins – West Ham away to Norwich City and Manchester City away to Wolves – and I would say we can pretty much rule out a goalless draw in this one.

Talking Points

How can the Hammers stop De Bruyne?

At a SBOTOP price of 7.96 to win and 4.55 to draw, the market doesn’t have much faith in West Ham for this game, and anyone who watched Manchester City’s visit to Wolves on Wednesday will know why.

Pep Guardiola’s team were at their scintillating best and, as is so often the case, Kevin De Bruyne pulled the strings while he also scored the goals. De Bruyne bagged four in a league game for the first time in his career in the 5-1 destruction of Wolves.

With no Champions League or FA Cup distractions for City, there will be no squad rotation when it comes to the Belgian genius and so the coaches at West Ham have their work cut out to work out how stop him on Sunday.

His four goals made it 15 for the season, and alongside his seven assists he is the most dangerous player in City’s team.

Jarrod Bowen has become the first player to notch 10+ goals and 10+ assists in a single Premier League season for West Ham — West Ham United’s Manuel Lanzini celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Jarrod Bowen

You can’t cut out the supply of ball to De Bruyne because the Sky Blues rarely lose control of possession, so the Hammers’ defencive midfielders Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will need to dominate the space just in front of their own penalty area.

Top scorer Jarrod Bowen is a key man if the Hammers are to break down City’s defence. He made three assists in West Ham’s win over Norwich, but he too has a responsibility alongside Pablo Fornals to press City’s defenders and hopefully rush them into mistakes.

The Hammer’s Premier League 2022 results have taken a downturn in recent weeks, with a run of three defeats and a draw in the four games before they headed to Carrow Road. But they can still win Europa League football again next season, and that’s a big enough incentive with sixth place in reach.

Champions League heartbreak has focused the Sky Blues

But the hosts have a mountainous task on their hands when they host Guardiola’s side.

Even as Liverpool whittled the gap at the top down to one point, the Premier League 2022 betting odds have been steadfastly behind Manchester City.

And their recent form has been outstanding. Take away the incredible two-leg Champions League loss to Real Madrid and City’s last four games have yielded 12 league points with a goal difference of 19 to two.

West Ham have more to worry about than De Bruyne. Joao Cancelo with nine assists and Raheem Sterling with 13 goals are both match winners, while Gabriel Jesus continues to perform well as the Sky Blues’ lone striker.

The recent announcement of Erling Haaland’s impending arrival at the Etihad has sent a shiver down the spine of fans in Liverpool and London as the big Norwegian goal machine could make Manchester City unbeatable.

History

Even though their dominance of the English league is relatively recent, City have consistently had the better of their exchanges with West Ham in the Premier League era, winning 31, drawing eight, and losing 11.

Back in November, goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho gave the Sky Blues a 2-1 win at the Etihad while Manuel Lanzini scored a late consolation for the Hammers.

Recent form is in City’s favour with five wins from six in all competitions, while West Ham have won just one in six.