Manchester City v West Ham United
Premier League, Etihad Stadium, Sunday 19 May 2024, 4pm BST
West Ham United’s 2023/24 Premier League season reaches its conclusion at Manchester City on Sunday.
Etihad Stadium will host the Irons for a fixture that has major significance in terms of determining the destination of the top-flight title.
West Ham make the journey to the North West hoping to end their campaign with back-to-back wins, having defeated Luton Town 3-1 last time out.
Results elsewhere on Wednesday night confirmed the Irons will finish in ninth place in the table, meaning David Moyes' side have recorded three top-ten finishes in four seasons, though the Scot will be aiming to finish on a high with an historic first-ever away win over City as West Ham manager in his final game in charge of the Club.
Moyes’ charges will be under no illusions of the scale of the task at hand however, with City knowing that victory over the Hammers will be enough to hand them a fourth straight Premier League title, at the expense of second-placed Arsenal.
City prevailed at London Stadium in the reverse fixture in September, as second-half goals from Jérémy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland saw the visitors come from behind to claim three points after James Ward-Prowse opened the scoring.
Tickets…
West Ham fans are advised that the Club’s allocation of 3,065 tickets have sold out.
The first 90 per cent of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 29+ Loyalty Points. The remaining ten per cent (306 tickets) were then made available by a ballot process to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. This ballot closed at 12noon on Friday 3 May.
Travel…
As is the case with so many football stadia these days, it is recommended that supporters take public transport, rather than driving to the game.
If you are taking the train up from London, take a service from Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, with direct services leaving London at 08.07, 08.16, 09.16, 10.16, 11.16 and 12.08. From Piccadilly, take the Metrolink to Etihad Campus, from where it is a short walk to the stadium.
Return services depart Piccadilly at 18.15, 18.35, 18.55, 19.15 and 19.35.
If you do drive, park at one of the many Metrolink stations which have Park and Ride car parks, and board the tram to the ground. For a full list, click HERE.
How To Follow…
West Ham United’s away Premier League match against Manchester City has been selected for broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports.
If you live outside the UK, click HERE for details of Premier League listings in your territory.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app, and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on BBC Radio 5 live, and worldwide on our official website and app.
Team News…
Defenders Dinos Mavropanos and Nayef Aguerd will be assessed, having both been absent from West Ham United’s last four Premier League outings through injury.
Manchester City, meanwhile, could be without goalkeeper Ederson after he was replaced in their midweek victory over Tottenham Hotspur following a clash with Cristian Romero, while Kevin De Bruyne, who was also withdrawn through injury, will need to be assessed.
Opposition…
Manchester City have enjoyed another superb season under one of the most influential modern footballing figures, Pep Guardiola.
And now, after 37 Premier League fixtures, only West Ham United stand in the way of the Spaniard delivering a sixth top-flight trophy to the blue half of Manchester.
Guardiola, who continues to carve himself into the history books, led the Citizens to an historic treble last season, including City’s first ever UEFA Champions League crown.
City then became the first English club to hold five major domestic and international titles simultaneously, after defeating Fluminense 4-0 in the Club World Cup final in December, while also lifting the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the season.
Despite their Champions League defence coming to an end in this season's quarter-finals when they were defeated on penalties by Real Madrid, there are still two further silverware opportunities coming up in the space of the next ten days.
Guardiola has City in a position where they are odds-on favourites to lift a fourth consecutive Premier League title on Sunday, before they face rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley a week on Saturday.
Similar to last season, Norway centre-forward Erling Haaland has been the headline act for City with 38 goals in 43 appearances, including 27 in the Premier League, but the 23-year-old is just one of Guardiola’s galaxy of stars.
Phil Foden - one of England’s top footballing prospects - has developed into one of the outstanding players in what might be the best team in the world.
When City’s midfield contained David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva it seemed that one of their own homegrown talents could be swamped by expensive imports.
But since 2020 he hasn’t looked back. Foden has been one of City’s chief architects with 25 goals and eleven assists this season, helping his side to a division-best haul of 93 goals.
At the other end of the pitch, City have conceded just 33 goals - second best to Arsenal - and Joško Gvardiol’s five goals since April show that Sunday’s hosts are a dangerous proposition all over the pitch and not just in attack.
Previous Meetings…
We have not exactly had a great time on our recent visits to Etihad Stadium, with our last seven Premier League trips to Manchester City all ending in home wins, and West Ham United scoring just four goals in total in those matches.
Our last win at the Etihad was during the Farewell Boleyn season, 2015/16, when first-half goals from Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho secured a 2-1 success - our only victory in 17 Premier League visits to City’s new home, which was originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
In fact, that was our last Premier League win over Manchester City anywhere, with City winning 13 and drawing three of the 16 meetings since.
However, we did beat Pep Guardiola’s side on penalties in the EFL Cup fourth round at London Stadium in October 2021.
Match Officials...
Referee: John Brooks
Assistant Referees: Lee Betts and Akil Howson
Fourth Official: Sam Allison
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Assistant VAR: Tim Wood
John Brooks has been confirmed as the man in the middle for Sunday’s final-day trip to title hopefuls Manchester City in the Premier League.
The Leicestershire-born official was promoted to Select Group One in June 2021 and refereed his first Premier League match in December of the same year.
He has held the whistle during 21 top-flight clashes this season, including two involving the Hammers.
Indeed, Brooks was in charge of August’s 3-1 win over Chelsea and the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in April, while he also oversaw West Ham’s last trip to Manchester City, which resulted in a 3-0 defeat towards the end of 2022/23.
Besides his domestic duties, he also refereed this term’s UEFA Youth League final, won by Olympiacos, and has featured in the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying and on the international scene.
For more information about the officials, click HERE.
