The reigning champions kick off their title defense at the London Stadium in the aftermath of their disappointing 3-1 Community Shield defeat vs. Liverpool.

Preview

The new Premier League season has finally kicked off, with the weekend bringing about a host of exciting games. North London giants Arsenal and Tottenham kicked things off with wins, beating Crystal Palace and Southampton 2-0 and 4-1 respectively, while Liverpool were held to a surprise 2-2 draw away to Fulham. However, all eyes were and remain on Sunday's showdown between Manchester City and West Ham.

Guardiola's title holders will make the trip to the capital for this showdown, entering this fixture on the back of their recent Community Shield disappointment. It has been just over a week since the Cityzens locked horns with Liverpool in England's curtain raiser, an encounter which did not end well for De Bruyne and Co.

Despite giving debuts to both Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, the club's two marquee summer arrivals, City did not enjoy their time on the pitch. The Norwegian striker missed a number of opportunities, including one brilliant chance shortly before full-time, as the league champions fell to a 3-1 defeat to Klopp's side at the King Power Stadium.

Additionally, the visitors did not enjoy their most recent trip to the Hammers and will thus have that in the back of their memory. These two sides met in the penultimate round of last season, with Pep's side going 2-0 down in the first half. Fortunately, the Manchester giants mounted a comeback and drew 2-2, with that point eventually earning them the top-flight crown over Liverpool on the final day.

Interestingly, City only played two fixtures during the pre-season and thus might not be as sharp and fit as their counterparts. The English heavyweights locked horns with Club America and Bayern Munich during their tour of the United States. City won both fixtures, with Haaland scoring in the victory over Bayern, but all that matters this weekend is the three points on Sunday.

West Ham, on the other hand, enjoyed a rather disappointing end to the season. After putting on a real top-four challenge earlier on in the campaign, the London outfit saw both routes into the UEFA Champions League slip out of grasp.

The Hammers were in the UEFA Europa League last term and after a strong group stage campaign, many touted Moyes' side to go all the way. Unfortunately, Bowen and Co. fell short in the penultimate round, losing to Eintracht Frankfurt – the eventual champions – in the semifinals.

As for the top four race, West Ham suffered several blows in the final hurdle, losing to the likes of Tottenham, Manchester United, and Arsenal, their direct competition. And to make things worse, the club both missed out on a top-four finish and a failed to maintain their UEFA Europa League spot, wrapping up the 2021/22 campaign in seventh and thus dropping to thhe UEFA Europa Conference League.

The home side have strengthened over the summer and will aim for another top four push. The likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd, Flynn Downes, Maxwel Cornet and Alphonse Areola have all joined while Jarrod Bowen, who scored a brace in that draw with City, will be targeting another fruitful campaign.

Team news

West Ham: Fans excited to see Scamacca make his debut might be disappointed as Moyes revealed that he will need to be eased in to the Premier League. Angelo Ogbonna is yet to return from his long-term knee injury but is making good progress. As a result, expect the Hammers to name a familiar lineup, with Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen leading the line.

Man City: Aymeric Laporte is out until September, meaning Nathan Ake will likely remain in the lineup while John Stones works on his fitness level. Erling Haaland could make his Premier League debut but it will be interesting to see who joins him in attack as Grealish and Mahrez, the two favorites, disappointed in the recent Community Shield loss.

Key stats

  • Manchester City are undefeated in their last 13 games against West Ham, winning all but three.

  • The Hammers won only one of their final eight games of last season's Premier League campaign.

  • The Cityzens have lost three of their last six Premier League season openers.

Broadcast listings

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

West Ham United 0 - 2 Manchester City

August 7, 2022 11:30amLondon Stadium (London)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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