Manchester City's quest for a third successive Premier League title begins on Sunday, as they travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United.
The Citizens are likely to hand a Premier League debut to superstar forward Erling Haaland, whilst West Ham are expected to hand out a number of debuts of their own.
The two will meet on Sunday afternoon, with the game set to be televised in the United Kingdom via Sky Sports. Here is the full rundown of everything that you need to know ahead of the match.
West Ham United vs Manchester City Team News
West Ham United
David Moyes confirmed that his side have a number of injury concerns to contend with ahead of their Premier League opener, although he stopped short of saying exactly who would be absent from the squad.
The West Ham gaffer did confirm that it is unlikely that big-money signing Gianluca Scamacca will make his debut this weekend though, as the young Italian gets up to speed following his move from Sassuolo earlier this summer.
West Ham are widely expected to complete the transfer of versatile Burnley fullback Maxwel Cornet, although it is unlikely that he will arrive at the club in time for this weekend's match.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has a near full-strength squad to select from this weekend, with Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez among those in line for a first taste of Premier League action.
Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias are likely to start at the heart of the City defence, with Ayermic Laporte out injured and John Stone short of match fitness.
Aside from Laporte, there are no fresh injury concerns for City, who are likely to field a similar side to the one defeated by Liverpool in last week's Community Shield.
Predicted Lineups
West Ham United (4-3-3): Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Fornals, Bowen, Benrahma, Antonio
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Ake, Dias, Walker; Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Grealish, Foden, Haaland
Match Preview
Manchester City and West Ham meet at the London Stadium for the second time in the last three Premier League matchdays, having played out an entertaining 2-2 draw when the sides met in the latter stages of the 2021/22 season.
West Ham led 2-0 early in the clash, before City fought back to secure what would prove to be a title-winning point.
City enter the game as the hot favourites, although they will need to improve significantly on their Community Shield showing if they are to get off to a winning start in their quest to win a third successive Premier League title for the first time in their history.
West Ham's recent history against the Citizens doesn't make for pretty reading, with their last 90-minute victory against the reigning champions coming at the Etihad back in 2015. They did come out victorious in last season's Carabao Cup courtesy of a penalty shootout success.
Whilst West Ham will be no easy test for Pep Guardiola's side, we are backing them to get off to a fast start in their title defence, with Erling Haaland chomping at the bit to put last week's horror miss behind him.
Score Prediction: West Ham 1-3 Manchester City
Tom Young's Tip: Erling Haaland to score
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