Key events
3 min: Jarrod Bowen tries a curling shot that swerves quite viciously on its way towards Ederson, who punches it clear.
1 min: It’s a bright start for West Ham, who go close courtesy of a deflected cross. Mohammed Kudus cuts in from the left and his cross loops up in the air off Rico Lewis. The ball drops for Michail Antonio but he’s prevented from getting to the ball by Josko Gvardiol, who gives him a little shove.
West Ham v Manchester City is go …
1 min: Following a minute’s applause for the former ENgland manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who passed away earlier this week, Kevin De Bruyne gets the ball rolling for Manchester City. Their players wear yellow and black striped shirts, black shorts and yellow socks. West Ham’s players wear their usual home kit.
Not long now: Led by match referee Michael Oliver and his team of match officials, the teams make the journey from the tunnel to the pitch at the London Stadium and line up for the last of the pre-match niceties.
A few moments ago, Carlos Soler, West Ham’s deadline day loan signing from Paris Saint-Germain, was introduced to the fans.
Pep Guardiola: In a short pre-match chat with Sky Sports, the Manchester City manager reveals that Savinho is not in the squad because he has a problem with his knee. He expects him to be back just after the internatinoal break.
Today’s match officials
-
Referee: Michael Oliver
-
Assistants: Stuart Burt and Dan Cook.
-
Fourth official: James Bell.
-
VAR: Darren England.
-
Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett.
Those teams: Aaron Wan-Bissaka makes his first Premier League start for West Ham, in one of two changes Julen Lopetegui makes from last weekend’s win at Crystal Palace. Edson Alvarez is also in, while Vladimir Coufal and Thomas Soucek drop to the bench.
Jack Grealish starts for Manchester City, with no place in the matchday squad for Savinho. Mateo Kovacic has been passed fit to start, while Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan are on the bench.
West Ham v Manchester City line-ups
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Alvarez, Paqueta, Rodriguez, Kudus, Antonio, Bowen.
Subs: Fabianski, Casey, Coufal, Todibo, Soucek, Irving, Summerville, Guilherme, Fullkrug.
Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Doku, Grealish, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Stones, Ake, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Nunes, O’Reilly, McAtee.
Early West Ham team news
Left-back Aaron Cresswell misses out after suffering a hamstring injury in the warm-up before his side’s midweek Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth, while Edson Alvarez made his first appearance for the Hammers in that game after recovering from a hamstring injury of his own.
“He showed big energy but it’s true that he’s going to need time to adapt and recover his best fitness for sure, because he’s an important player for us, and he’s going to do that step by step,” said Julen Lopetegui of the Mexican midfielder.
Early Manchester City team news
Manchester City winger Oscar Bobb remains out with a fractured bone in his leg, while Phil Foden is likely to sit out his second game in a row through illness. “He doesn’t feel good,” said Pep Guardiola yesterday.
Rodri has yet to appear for City this season but has recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him at half-time in the Euro 2024 final, while Mateo Kovacic is due to undergo a late fitness test after picking up a knock in training.
Premier League: West Ham v Manchester City
The London Stadium is the venue for this evening’s top flight match between West Ham and the reigning champions, who have not lost any of their past 19 meetings against today’s opposition in an unbeaten run that dates back to September 2015.
What’s more, during Pep Guardiola’s reign at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City have won 15 and drawn three of the 18 games in which they have faced West Ham.
More optimistic Hammers fans will legitimately argue it’s a run that has to end sometime but on the evidence of their opening two victories of this Premier League season, the champions will take some beating.
Kick-off in Stratford is at 5.30pm but we’ll have plenty of team news and build-up in the meantime.