MANCHESTER CITY
Premier League, Etihad Stadium, Sunday 19 May 2024, 4pm BST
West Ham United will be hoping to prevent history repeating itself when they head to Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City on the final day of the 2023/24 season.
Ten years ago, in May 2014, City scored a 2-0 victory at the same venue to hold off their nearest rivals Liverpool to win the Premier League title for the second time.
A decade on, City again go into the last of their 38 games needing victory to secure top spot and lift the trophy for the fourth season in a row and an eighth time since doing so for the first time in 2011/12.
Of course, West Ham will want to finish the season on a high ourselves, but the odds will be against the Londoners ending a run of seven straight defeats at the Etihad and scoring a first win there since September 2015.
Manager David Moyes will also hope to change his own personal record at Manchester City as West Ham boss, which reads played five, lost five.
How to get there…
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.
Where to stay…
As England’s second-largest urban area, Manchester and its surrounding towns have plenty of accommodation options to suit all budgets and tastes.
There are some sensational hotels in the city, many of which are either within walking distance of the Metrolink or a short taxi ride to the Etihad Stadium.
For those for whom price is more important than style, there are the usual chain options in and around the city centre.
What to do…
As a city that flourished and grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, many of Manchester’s major sights derive from the Victorian period.
If you arrive in the city with some time to explore before heading to Etihad Stadium, the Science and Industry Museum is a fascinating museum based in the country’s first railway station, Liverpool Road.
If you’d rather stick to the Beautiful Game, the National Football Museum is situated in Cathedral Gardens to the north of the city centre, and houses the world’s finest collection of football objects and memorabilia, the English Football Hall of Fame, as well as interactive games for all the family.
Many of the exhibits have a link with West Ham United, including Geoff Hurst and Bobby Moore’s boots and Hurst’s shirt from England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup final win over West Germany.
For further information, head to visitmanchester.com.
What’s happened there before…
As mentioned, 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.
