Manchester City vs West Ham verdict, predicted score, key stats and suggested bets

City will win the Premier League if they win all of their remaining games, but they cannot afford a slip up against the Hammers.

Premier League, Wednesday May 3, Kick-off 8.00pm, Sky Sports Main Event

Man City -1 Handicap

First goalscorer - Erling Haaland

Over 2.5 goals

Manchester City have lost one of their last 16 games against West Ham.

West Ham have won two of their last six outings.

Three of Erling Haaland's last four Premier League goals have come in the opening 30 minutes.

Manchester City have won their last eight Premier League matches.

Nathan Ake and Kevin De Bruyne will be forced to sit out Wednesday's encounter as the two Manchester City players continue to recover from injuries.

West Ham, on the other hand, will be without Kurt Zouma, who came off at the weekend against Crystal Palace with an ankle injury. Striker Gianluca Scamacca is also out of action.

Manchester City's path to the Premier League title looks relatively elementary as Pep Guardiola targets his fifth English crown.

The Sky Blues have six games remaining this season, starting with a home clash against relegation candidates West Ham United.

City enter the match having gone 18 games unbeaten across all competitions. The defending champions have won their last eight Premier League matches and haven't tasted defeat in the competition since February.

West Ham's numbers fall short of that standard by a considerable margin.

The Irons recently suffered back-to-back defeats and have picked up just two wins from their last six outings across all competitions.

David Moyes and his men are five points clear of the bottom three and still require points if they are to secure their Premier League status for another year.

Those points are unlikely to come against City, who boast a fearsome record against West Ham.

City have won 13 of their last 16 meetings, losing just once in the process. Interestingly, that sole West Ham success came on Moyes' watch as his side eliminated the Manchester powerhouse from the Carabao Cup last season.

Realistically speaking, the Irons will have to embrace their underdog status as they try to pull off a similar shock result.

One of their major Achilles' heels is their leaky defence. West Ham have kept just two clean sheets in their last eight games and conceded six goals across their last two outings alone.

City will be more than happy to expose that weakness as star striker Erling Haaland attempts to break more records.

The Norwegian scored against Fulham at the weekend to become the first man in England since 1931 to bag 50 competitive goals in a single season.

Considering three of his last four Premier League goals have come in the opening 30 minutes, our betting tip is to back the forward to open the scoring against West Ham.

Man City to win the match with a -1 handicap should also offer some value.