After winning the Premier League in style on the final day of the season against Aston Villa last season, Manchester City are set to begin their title defence against West Ham United.
Signing the likes of Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega so far, Pep Guardiola’s side are clearly ready to make a statement from day one.
However, City suffered a hiccup in their preparation ahead of the 2022/23 campaign off the back of a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the FA Community Shield.
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While West Ham United are nothing short of a banana skin to start proceedings, the Sky Blues would want to right their wrongs with an emphatic victory.
In the same clash last season, City came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.
After yet another fruitful season that saw them finish seventh in the Premier League last term, the Hammers promise to make life difficult for the visitors at the London Stadium.
One of the division’s finest sides have now added the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd and Flynn Downes to their ranks, while signing Alphonse Areola on a permanent deal this summer.
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In what is guaranteed to be a cracker of a clash, here are the most intriguing statistics to keep an eye out for:
West Ham United
- Craig Dawson made the second most number of blocks in the Premier League last season (52).
- Alongside Mason Mount and Harvey Barnes, Jarrod Bowen registered the third highest number of assists in the previous campaign (10).
- Lukasz Fabianski registered the sixth highest number of minutes in the entire division last season (3,330).
- West Ham put in the third most crosses in the English top-flight last term (802).
- Jarrod Bowen hit the woodwork the third most number of times in the Premier League last season (4).
Manchester City
- Riyad Mahrez enjoyed the most productive season of his career so far last term (24 goals and 9 assists in all competitions).
- Manchester City scored the most number of goals in the Premier League in the previous campaign (99).
- Kevin De Bruyne was the highest scoring midfielder in the English top-flight last season (15).
- Ederson made the joint-highest number of clean sheets in the division (20).
- Aymeric Laporte played the most number of passes out of any defender in the 2021/22 Premier League campaign (2,920).
- Joao Cancelo registered the highest number of minutes out of any City player across all competitions last season (4,649).
Previous Meetings
- Out of the total 117 meetings between both clubs, Manchester City won 68, West Ham won 38 and 19 games ended in draws.
- Pep Guardiola has gone toe-to-toe with the Hammers on 12 occasions during his time at City across all competitions, winning 10 while drawing and losing one game apiece.
- The last time these two sides met, the contest ended in a 2-2 draw.
Potential Landmarks
- Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips can make their debuts in the Premier League for Manchester City.
- Bernardo Silva is just one goal shy of scoring his 30th Premier League goal for the Sky Blues.
- Phil Foden needs a single goal to score his 25th for his boyhood club in the Premier League.
- Bernardo Silva is two goals away from scoring his 50th in a Manchester City shirt.
- Ilkay Gundogan is one goal away from his 50th in a Manchester City shirt.
Topics: Manchester City, West Ham United, Premier League