Manchester City will be taking on West Ham United in their sixth fixture of the English Premier League (EPL) in this season at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Manuel Pellegrini's men in blue have maintained an unbeaten streak so far in the ongoing season of the EPL by winning five out of five games.
City's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend helped them to maintain their unbeaten stretch in the EPL 2015-2016 season.
They will be looking to extend their streak by overcoming West Ham United as well on Saturday.
The Citizens will be coming into the EPL fixture after a defeat in the hands of Juventus in the opening game of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Giorgio Chiellini scored an own goal to give City a 1-0 lead, but Juventus came back from behind brilliantly to seal a 2-1 victory. Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata were the ones to find the back of the net.
Pellegrini felt that his boys did not deserve to lose the game against the Italian league champions on Tuesday. Yaya Toure almost equalised for City in the added time but Gianluigi Buffon made a screamer of a save to maintain a goal difference.
On the other hand, West Ham United will be riding high on confidence after a convincing win over Newcastle United last weekend. Head coach Slaven Bilic is confident that his boys can upset the City fans. Bilic felt that his players will have to be at their very best at Etihad, which is a pretty difficult task. The momentum they gained after the win over Newcastle might just help them to stun The Citizens on Saturday.
"It would be a surprise, of course, because before Juventus Man City scored 11 goals and didn't concede -- they are cruising. They already have a gap [at the top of the table] which is hard to catch after five games. So on the one hand it would be a surprise, but to be fair, it would not be a shock considering we have done it two out of two already," Bilic told the media ahead of Saturday's clash against the EPL table-toppers.
"It's good for us -- we know what we have to do to have a chance. They are the favourites but I am expecting us to have a good game, and if we have a good game, we have a chance. At the start of pre-season, the players and manager probably said, Come on, guys, let's do it, last year was not good. The quality is there. It's extreme. It's scary quality," he added.
City might just be without the services of Raheem Sterling, David Silva and skipper Vincent Kompany. The three have been suffering from minor injuries and are uncertain to make it to the playing XI against West Ham on Saturday. In that case, Kevin De Bruyne might get to start the game.
Probable Lineups:
Manchester City: Hart; Kompany, Sagna, Kolarov, Mangala; Navas, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Touré; Agüero, Bony.
West Ham United: Randolph; Ogbonna, Reid, Tomkins, Cresswell; Payet, Moses; Kouyaté, Noble, Lanzini; Sakho.
Manchester City vs West Ham United Schedule:
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Date: 18, September, 2015
Time: 5:30pm local time (10:00pm IST).
