West Ham Utd vs Manchester City Preview: Recent Form, Previous Encounter, Team News & More

West Ham United will take on Manchester City at the London Stadium on Sunday, in a Premier League clash of potentially far greater significance for the home side than for the visitors.

Although they are well clear of 18th-placed Southampton and 19th-placed Stoke City - and can no longer be caught by bottom side West Brom - the Hammers could still mathematically be relegated. Even a point against City may yet prove crucial in the race to avoid the drop.

Meanwhile, City have already wrapped up this season's Premier League title in emphatic style and have nothing left to play for, except the possibility of setting new Premier League records. 

In particular, they need just two more wins to surpass the record points total of 95 - achieved by José Mourinho's Chelsea in 2005 - and six more goals to surpass the record number of goals scored in a single season (103), which was set by Carlo Ancelotti's Blues in 2010.

Recent Form

If the Hammers hoped that City might ease off a little after sealing the Premier League title, these hopes were emphatically dashed by the Sky Blues' merciless display against Swansea, in which they ran out 5-0 winners at the Etihad.

Apart from their Champions League woes against Liverpool and surprising home defeat by local rivals Manchester United, City have given their upcoming opponents little cause for cheer in recent matches, with comfortable away wins over Everton and Tottenham Hotspur either side of their three-match blip against the Reds and the Red Devils.

As for the Hammers, they will hope that their 4-1 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates last Sunday was just an aberration after a run of three matches without defeat, including a vital home win over relegation rivals Southampton and a hard-fought draw away to Chelsea.

Previous Encounter: West Ham 2-1 Manchester City (October 2014)

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Surprising as it may now seem, we don't have to delve deep into the archives to find an example of the Hammers upsetting the odds in a home match against City, who were the reigning champions at the time.

The Hammers took a shock first-half lead through Morgan Amalfitano, who could hardly miss from three yards out after being teed up by Enner Valencia.

Predictably, the visitors enjoyed the lion's share of possession - a staggering 70 percent overall - but managed just five shots on target, one of which being a superb curled finish by David Silva in the 77th minute.

Unfortunately for City, West Ham had already doubled their lead by then, with Senegal forward Diafra Sakho meeting Aaron Cresswell's cross to head past Joe Hart.

The visitors did hit the woodwork twice and forced a couple of fine saves by Adrián, but in the end they could have few complaints about the outcome after a jaded performance.

Team News

West Ham goalkeeper Adrián will start on Sunday, with the on-loan Joe Hart barred from playing against his parent club Manchester City. The Spanish keeper is believed to be unhappy that manager David Moyes prefers Hart to him, in spite of the England man's erratic performances this season.

Another West Ham player who may be leaving in the summer is Mexico striker Javier Hernández, who has scored eight goals for the Hammers this season but is understood to be frustrated with his lack of starts.

Moyes' squad is heavily depleted by injuries. Michail Antonio, Pedro Obiang, Winston Reid and Sam Byram are all ruled out, with Wales defender James Collins also a doubt for Sunday as he is still recovering from a hamstring strain.

Unfortunately for the Hammers, the champions have no such problems.

Apart from the injured Sergio Agüero and John Stones, and the suspended Fernando Luiz Rosa, Pep Guardiola has a full complement of players to choose from - including France left back Benjamin Mendy, who has missed most of this season with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Prediction

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The Hammers will no doubt take some encouragement from their dogged performance at the Etihad last December, as they gave the home side an almighty scare before ultimately succumbing to a late David Silva goal in a 2-1 defeat.

However, City were uncharacteristically poor in that match and still found a way to win. They are also highly unlikely to play as poorly on Sunday as they did last December.

Whichever way you look at it, it would take either a memorable West Ham display or a City off day for the visitors to be denied a comfortable victory.

Predicted Result:West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City