Sunday Premier League Odds, Picks, Prediction: Manchester City vs. West Ham Betting Preview

Man City vs. West Ham Odds

After playing midweek European contests, Manchester City and West Ham United will meet Sunday in a crucial Premier League showdown.

In fact, this is a top-four battle thanks to West Ham's impressive win against Liverpool prior to the international break. Needless to say, a shocking win in this spot would lift them even on points with the Cityzens.

Man City is a heavy favorite on the three-way moneyline at -340 odds, and there's good reason for that. The Cityzens are 4-1-1 at home on the year and the only two goals they have conceded at Etihad Stadium came in a shocking 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace.

Manager Pep Guardiola's team has been relentless this year, and it's allowed the squad  a Champions League group that included PSG and sit in second in the league.

Will the Hammers have any luck in one of the hardest atmospheres to play in across Europe, or will City roll again?

Man City Continuing Dominant Form in Europe

It's almost inevitable that at some point of every season, City will turn into a team that becomes almost impossible to beat, and to an extent it feels like we've reached that point.

The aforementioned loss to Palace served as a major wake up call to City, and it has won every game across the EPL and Champions League since then. Man City's form has allowed them to become the highest expected goals-generating home side in the English top flight.

Defensively, City has been even more impressive. I noted earlier that it has only conceded two goals at home in the league, and that has translated to Man City being the only team in the league less than 1 xGA/game, and City's number isn't even close at 0.71 this season.

Guardiola will be without Kevin De Bruyne, who is dealing with COVID-19, but City has shown against Everton and Paris Saint-Germain that it's not short for options to replace him. Frankly, it almost makes City even more dangerous to see the team perform so well without its best player.

Is West Ham for Real? Time to Find Out

Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. However, if West Ham follows up a massive victory against Liverpool with two losses on the bounce, that would be a big knock to its confidence as a whole.

The Hammers deserve the success that they've had in the league this year. West Ham has generated the fourth-highest xG/game in the league, coming in at 1.71. It's also conceded the sixth-fewest xGA/game at 1.33/game. West Ham's success is no accident, but it's extremely hard to maintain that level of form.

David Moyes' team is also dealing with the unfortunate reality of midweek play. Though there will be a couple of changes ahead of the matchup with City, West Ham had to play in Austria on Thursday, and it'll have to deal with a sharp turn around heading into this game.

It's far from ideal, but it's the consequence of earning the European money that comes with success. It becomes harder to stay at the higher echelons of the league when you have to deal with that, so it'll be interesting to see how West Ham performs.

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Betting Analysis & Pick

Doing anything other than backing Man City at the Etihad this year has not been profitable (unless you picked off the Crystal Palace moneyline, that is).

Nearly all of City's home wins across both competitions have been decisive victories, and when facing a West Ham team that is fresh off of a trip to Vienna, I can't see that changing.

The Hammers are a legitimately good side and one that will compete to qualify for the Europa League and just maybe the fourth Champions League spot at the end of the year, but City is just that good that it will suffocate West Ham in the comfort of its home stadium.

Back City on the spread.

Pick: Manchester City -1.5 (-115)