Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero is a crucial figure for Manchester City Getty

Manchester City travel to West Ham United on Saturday 23 January in a game that can have massive repercussions at the top of the table. A win for City will take them two points above leaders Arsenal, who take on Chelsea at the Emirates next day.

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 5:30pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD. Highlights will be available on BBC Match of the Day at 10:25pm on BBC One.

Overview

West Ham have been in a brilliant form this season and are looking good to finish in the top half of the table after a series of brilliant performance, especially on the road. They are only four points adrift of a place in the Champions League and apart from that blip against relegation battlers Newcastle, against whom they lost 2-1 last weekend, they have the capability to take on any team on the day.

Slaven Bilic has transformed the way the Hammers play football, with the likes of Dimitri Payet coming in to add creativity and flair to the West Ham attack. They have not been completely abysmal in defence either, conceding only six goals in their last nine games in the league.

Meanwhile, Manchester City have a chance to draw some clear daylight between themselves and Arsenal with a win. The 4-0 thrashing of Palace last weekend took them to within a point of the Gunners, who have a difficult game against Chelsea to cope at the Emirates. The Gunners have a very poor record against their rivals from West London and City will be looking to capitalise should the Gunners slip up yet again, having drawn their last two games against Liverpool and Stoke City.

Sergio Aguero is coming back to form, which is an ominous sign for other teams in the race, with the striker scoring two and assisting one against Palace last weekend. David Silva is also back in scoring form and Manuel Pellegrini will be banking on his star players to reclaim their position at the top of the table.

What managers say

Slaven Bilic: "We have beaten them already this season. They are better now but we are confident and know what we can achieve. Sergio Aguero is one of the best strikers in the world. He is really an unbelievable player, his movement and finishing is top-class."

Manuel Pellegrini: "It is not easy but we must try to demonstrate why we are fighting for the title. It is a difficult game because we are playing against a very good team that beat us at home at the beginning of the season. As always, I hope we are going to go for three points, and for that we need the personality to go there and play well. I think our mentality always is to be an attacking team. Maybe a lot of time you cannot score but if you score four like we did last time, of course I'm very happy — it is the way we want to play and is the best way for this team to win titles I think. I hope that will continue, with us scoring goals."

Betting odds (888Sport)

  • West Ham Win: 54/13
  • Draw: 37/12
  • Manchester City Win: 5/7

Team News

West Ham

Possible XI: Adrian; Byram, Ogbonna, Collins, Cresswell; Noble, Song, Kouyate; Moses, Payet; Valencia

Manchester City

Possible XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Demichelis, Kolarov; Fernando, Toure; Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling; Aguero

Manchester City FC