Julen Lopetegui's side prepared to face Premier League Champions Manchester City in a home fixture after coming on the back of a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in the second match and another narrow 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup. Last season, West Ham faced 3-1 defeats in both home and away fixture against Manchester City. In the home match, West Ham took the lead in the first half, however, City scored three goals in the second half to complete the comeback win and in the away match, Phil Foden scored a first half brace to complete another 3-1 win over West Ham.
Thus, taking some points in this match needed a complete team effort both in defence as well as attack. The defending Premier League Champions started the game on a high note as Bernardo Silva gave a key pass to Erling Haaland at the edge of the box, who scored inside ten minutes to give City the 1-0 lead. After ten minutes, West Ham advanced inside the final third for the first time in this match and captain Jarrod Bowen's pass deflected of City defender Ruben Dias and found the back of the net.
West Ham face second Premier League defeat this season
West Ham made it 1-1 but City created several huge chances in the match. Around the half an hour mark, Erling Haaland found the top corner to again provide the lead to Pep Guardiola's side. In the second half, West Ham came very close to scoring as Mohammed Kudus made a brilliant run in the final third and made a pass to Bowen who gave it back to Kudus, however, the 24-year-old’s attempt on goal came off the goal post.
With ten minutes remaining in the match, Manchester City created a big goal scoring chance and Haaland completed his hat trick with a calm and composed finish. Again Haaland was the star for City against West Ham, who, as a matter of fact scored a brace against West Ham on his Premier League debut two seasons ago. For West Ham, they need to start Fullkrug as the centre forward and Cryscencio Summerville on the left wing, allowing Kudus to play as a central playmaker to further improve their attack.