West Ham v Man City: Visitors to finally forge an away win
Published:Manuel Pellegrini will be only too aware of the immediate need to start taking maximum points on the road, if Manchester City are to live up to their title contender tag, and unfortunately for West Ham, Upton Park will serve as their springboard.
After the Hammers recorded arguably their best away result in the Premier League since winning at Old Trafford in 2007, preceding the international break, punters would be forgiven if they were knee-jerked into backing Tottenham’s conquerors at 4/1.
However, a more thorough examination of the evidence may just convince the betting type to side with their illustrious visitors on this occasion, at the admittedly less shiny 4/6 with Ladbrokes.
A good starting place would be the vastly superior head-to-head record of City over their capital-based hosts.
The 2011/12 champions have lost just once to the Hammers in their last 12 Premier League meetings, winning on eight occasions, including four of the last six.
And while Sam Allardyce or Allardicio, depending on individual taste, deserves huge credit for masterminding Spurs’ downfall with a classic counter-attacking performance, the Irons boss is yet to fully figure out how to win at home.
Stoke and Everton have so far benefitted to the tune of three points when leaving the east-end of London, which gives the impression that City can do the same also.
In the absence of Andy Carroll, home hopes will naturally centre around the bristling talent of Ravel Morrison in the West Ham midfield, and he’s sure to have an influence after scoring three times in his last four games.
He’s as likely as any to provide a goal-shaped spark for the visitors at 4/1, while from a grand selection pack of opposing strikers, in-form Alvaro Negredo gets the nod at 6/4 for the Citizens.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim three £10 free bets when you bet £10
