At least West Ham has managed to get out of the gutter of the Premier League and appears to not be in the midst of a relegation fight any longer. But with Dimitri Payet now on his way to Marseille, the club has lost one of its big time stars that it will have to get along without now the rest of the way. The Hammers' first test without Payet comes against Manchester City, a team that already has seven away wins in 11 matches this season.
At 2:45 p.m. ET, tune into NBC Sports Network for live television coverage of this Barclays Premier League match on Wednesday, February 1, 2016, at Olympic Stadium.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
West Ham +450
Manchester City -170
Draw +335
Over/Under 3
Odds Analysis
This is obviously a tall task for West Ham. The Hammers are set at +450 on the moneyline at home in this one against a Manchester City side that knows it can't afford to punt matches like this one if it wants to stay in the Top 4 and play Champions League soccer again next season.
The Citizens are favored by a goal and are expected to hit home at least twice in this one thanks to a total of a flat 3, albeit with -119 vig on the under.
Key Injuries
Things are okay right now on the injury front for Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola is constantly messing with his lineup at this point. Sergio Aguero has a minor knock but was merely held out of the FA Cup match with Crystal Palace over the weekend because the Citizens have so many big time matches ahead. Aside from that, only Ilkay Gundogan, who might be out for the rest of the year, is on the injury report.
Robert Snodgrass is set to make his West Ham debut in this match in the midfield, and that should help a team that is playing without Andre Ayew thanks to the African Cup of Nations and just lost Payet. But the rest of this injury list is pretty absurd. Diafra Sakho, Angelo Ogbonna, Arthur Masuaku, and Alvaro Arbeloa are all long-term injuries, while Andy Carroll, though expecting to be back in this match, has been saying that for a good week and a half now after suffering a groin injury.
Recent Form
That said, the Hammers are back in the saddle in the middle of the EPL table after beating Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough in consecutive matches. That ended a bad stretch at home against the two Manchester sides, first losing 2-0 to Man U in the EPL, then crashing out of the FA Cup against Manchester City 5-0.
The Citizens have been all over the place of late. Sure, they had that big win in this stadium a few weeks ago, but since that point, they were trashed by Everton 4-0, barely escaped a match with Tottenham at home with a point in a 2-2 draw and crushed Crystal Palace in the FA Cup 3-0. It's maddening for Guardiola to see just how good this team can be in one breath, then have it turn around and lay a complete and utter egg as it did against Everton in the next.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
With Aguero likely coming back in this match, we have a good sense that the Citizens are going to be in good shape against a team that really is ravaged right now. West Ham is in decent form, but this is a test that is far too tough for it after playing against two of the minnows in a row. It's been a good run for Slaven Bilic, but his side is overmatched and will drop any hope of points in convincing fashion against City once again, though at least this time, it shouldn't be a complete and utter bloodbath.
Barclays Premier League Odds: Manchester City 3, West Ham 1
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