West Ham face Manchester City at the London Stadium on Saturday night and the stats make grim reading for the Hammers .
Erling Haaland has scored more Premier League goals against West Ham than ANY other opponent (11) . He’s netted at least twice in his last three meetings with them . Only Michael Owen (against Newcastle, 1998-2001) and Harry Kane (against Everton, 2017-18) have scored two or more in four consecutive games against a single opponent .
If Haaland scores twice tonight, he joins that exclusive club.
THE MATCH
Kick off: 8pm GMT
Venue: London Stadium
TV: TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate (coverage from 7pm)
Stream: Discovery+ UK
West Ham are only in the relegation zone on goal difference, but recent form offers hope. Wins over Fulham in the league and Brentford in the FA Cup suggest Nuno Espirito Santo is finally getting a tune out of his squad .
But City arrive wounded. Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League loss to Real Madrid will have dented morale . They dropped points at home to Nottingham Forest in their last league outing . This is a vulnerable moment.
THE HAMMERS’ HOPE
Axel Disasi has added stability and physicality to the defence. Konstantinos Mavropanos has put his bad run behind him. But stopping Haaland is a different challenge entirely.
The Hammers haven’t beaten City since 2015 . That’s a decade without a win. Under the lights at the London Stadium, they’ll need something special.
THE VERDICT
City are wounded. West Ham are improving. Haaland loves this fixture.
Something’s got to give.
