West Ham vs Man City preview: Pep’s sentiments, team news and predictions
By Luke Oluoch, March 14, 2026Pep Guardiola’s side, Manchester City, travels to the London Stadium on Saturday, March 14, 2026, to face West Ham United in a late English Premier League kickoff.
The 11:00 pm kick-off against struggling Nuno Espirito’s side puts City on a collision course as they hunt for a return to winning ways after their UEFA Champions League thrashing against Real Madrid
The clash could come with its own pressures for the title race, with Arsenal taking to the pitch earlier against Everton.
The Gunners welcome the Toffees to the Emirates at 8:30 pm, seeking to take advantage of their early kickoff to open the gap between them and the challengers.
Jarred Bowen has been instrumental in attack, proven with his winning goal when they won the Conference League.
Danger, men.
The England ace has been a mainstay in the Hammers team after taking over the captaincy from Declan.
His compatriot Callum Wilson, a summer signing from Newcastle, is also a man to watch, going by his recent exploits. He has brought in valuable experience and a strong goal-scoring ability.
West Ham’s chances for a result seem to have been further dashed, with in-form winger Crysencio Summerville set to miss the tie with a calf injury. The Dutchman has been a major threat, contributing to the team’s 7 goals in his last 11 appearances across competitions.
Meanwhile, the Hammers will have to keep tabs on Erling Haaland. He has scored 11 goals against West Ham, the most he has managed against any opponent in this span, and heads into the tie seemingly as a wounded man after his peripheral display against Madrid.
The Norwegian was among the scorers in the first meeting between the teams, scoring a double in the 3-0 win as City wrapped up a seventh win on the trot.
With the city coming off a thrashing from Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola, who was selected as the February coach of the month, confirmed the striker’s fitness as his charges look to bounce back to winning ways. Rico Lewis and Matteo Kovacic, however, remain doubtful despite the two nearing first-team return, as revealed by Pep
Predictions
The Spaniard made the war cry, imploring them not to relent and keep fighting for every trophy available this season.
“When you have won a lot of titles, every game is important. We have been struggling for many months for the Premier League, and we will not give up fighting until the end.
With no room for further slip-ups, expect Guardiola’s men to collect a result from the clash.
Predicted lineups
West Ham: Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo/Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Fernandes, Soucek, Magassa; Bowen, Pablo Felipe/Castellanos, Traoré/Castellano
Man City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guéhi, Aït-Nouri; Rodri; Semenyo, Bernardo Silva, Cherki; Foden, Haaland.