This season has been business as usual for Manchester City so far. Ipswich poked the bear by scoring first at the Etihad last weekend but that aside it has been very smooth sailing.
The Cityzens have also been near flawless against West Ham in the Pep Guardiola era. It’s nine years since the Hammers beat them in the Premier League, 10 since they collected three points at home (and that was at Upton Park).
With West Ham without a clean sheet on their own patch in the league for 10 games, their worst run since 2009, an upset feels impossible. So, here, Andrew Beasley looks at some player prop bets rather than focusing on the teams for West Ham v Manchester City.
The selections here are all eligible for Paddy Power’s Super Sub offer. If you back a player to do something and they get hauled off, the man who comes on then takes on your bet. With the quality in City’s squad, that could be a £100m player saving you from the bench!
West Ham v Manchester City tips
Erling Haaland to score
Jarrod Bowen to have 1+ shots on target
Tomas Soucek to be shown a card
Edson Alvarez to commit 1+ fouls
Mohamed Kudus to be fouled 1+ times
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 25/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
WHEN: Saturday 31st of August, 5.30pm
WHERE: The London Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
TEAM NEWS
West Ham XI: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Alvarez, Paqueta, Rodriguez; Kudus, Bowen, Antonio.
City XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Doku, Grealish, Haaland
Erling Haaland to score
The obvious place to start is with goals and the obvious man to pick is Erling Haaland. I tried to overthink it last week – never a strong point – and went for Bernardo Silva.
But even with his skinny odds, you must pick the big Norwegian if you think he will play. Haaland made his Premier League debut in this fixture in 2022, scored twice, and hasn’t looked back.
He also scored at the London Stadium last season, will do so here, and probably every time he sets foot in the place. Just put Haaland down as an Anytime Goalscorer on your coupon and we can move on, alright?
Jarrod Bowen to have 1+ shots on target
Like City’s main man, Jarrod Bowen has scored a brace in this fixture in the past. He gave the Hammers a 2-0 lead in 2022, before the visitors fought back to earn a draw.
It was the only one of Bowen’s eight league appearances against the Cityzens in which he has scored. However, he has had a shot on target in two of the last four and stands a good chance of adding to that tally on Saturday evening.
Bowen has made 36 league appearances since the start of last season and tested the goalkeeper in 22 of them. Only Anthony Gordon, Dominic Solanke and Ollie Watkins have done so more times for teams from outside the Big Six, so back Bowen to have one or more shots on target.
Tomas Soucek to be shown a card
This is not a match up which traditionally generates many cards, with three of the last four clashes seeing a solitary booking. Our match referee Michael Oliver tends to keep his cards in his pocket too.
West Ham have picked up at least two yellows in four of the last five meetings at the London Stadium, though. One of the men to collect a caution last season was Tomas Soucek.
He looks at risk of another here even before this game kicks off. Only 10 players have committed more fouls in the early days of 2024/25, plus opposition central midfielders have been booked in both of City’s games so far. It’s hard work in there against the champions, so Soucek looks a good bet to be shown a card.
Edson Alvarez to commit 1+ fouls
If the Czech escapes a booking, Edson Alvarez – who also picked up a yellow in this fixture last term – is another good candidate. Except that we’ll take him to commit one or more fouls and let Oliver decide if his infraction is worth a card or not.
Alvarez has given away a free-kick in 22 of his 32 league matches since the start of last season. His total includes both games with City and Liverpool and one with Arsenal.
If he faces anyone good, the Mexican probably gives them a kick, in other words. Alvarez will commit a foul in this match.
Mohamed Kudus to be fouled 1+ times
The West Ham man has also been fouled in a lot of games in the last 12 months, in fairness. But we have a couple of other options for our final market.
Only four Premier League players have suffered more fouls than Rico Lewis across the first two match weeks of the campaign. Will Guardiola deploy the youngster in a third successive game though?
If not, we could turn to Mohamed Kudus. He has been fouled in 30 league games since last August despite only starting 29.
You can’t say fairer than that, can you? As he feels likelier to play than Lewis, take Kudus to be fouled one or more times.
West Ham v Man City Bet Builder tips
Erling Haaland to score
Jarrod Bowen to have 1+ shots on target
Tomas Soucek to be shown a card
Edson Alvarez to commit 1+ fouls
Mohamed Kudus to be fouled 1+ times
- A Bet Builder with these bets pays at approximately 25/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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