Betting

Manchester City vs. West Ham prediction, picks in EPL showdown

Once again, Manchester City enters the new Premier League season as an odds-on favorite to win the trophy. Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens have won four of the past five EPL titles and are searching for the first three-peat since their inner-city rivals, Manchester United, pulled off the feat in 2008-09.

But unlike the previous two seasons, City have undergone significant changes over the summer. Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fernandinho have been replaced by Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillps and Julian Alvarez.

The acquisition of Haaland is particularly noteworthy, as he’s not only one of the best players, but his arrival also signals a shift in tactic as City played all of last season without a true No. 9. Eventually, everything will become copacetic for Man City, and they’re likely to groove their way to another Premier League title, but it could take some time for City’s attack — which is lumbering to begin with — to get into gear.

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West Ham’s defensive form last season was all over the place, but David Moyes is no stranger to setting his team up in a pragmatic low-block against better sides, so this match could take quite some time before it gets going.

Betting the Under in a game featuring Manchester City is nobody’s idea of a fun time, but the circumstances are conducive for a low-event match at the Etihad on Sunday.

The play: Manchester City-West Ham Under 3 (-105).