Manchester City have started their title defence in ominous form, breezing to successive victories at Chelsea and Ipswich’s expense while scoring a league-high six times along the way.

Only Liverpool (5.10) have lodged a better combined xGF than the Cityzens (4.10) so far and despite Pep Guardiola’s assertations that City would take time to warm up, the champions already look like they’re close to hitting top gear.

In their current form, City are easy to back against anyone and having won six and drawn one of their last seven Premier League meetings with West Ham, it’s difficult to forecast anything other than another triumph for the title holders.

Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland looks like he has benefitted greatly from a summer off and the 24-year-old has exploded out of the traps this term, netting once at Chelsea and three times against Ipswich.

Haaland has been well-serviced by his teammates and the lethal finisher has been hitting 4.02 shots and 2.51 shots on target per 90 so far.

The London Stadium is a venue that Haaland likes and he found the net on each of his last two visits there. The striker had a whopping four shots on target in last season’s corresponding fixture between West Ham and City, and he needs to match just half of that tally to get this leg over the line on his return to East London.

Guido Rodriguez was a prolific hatchetman during his time with Real Betis in Spain and the hard-hitting Argentinian has already brought some of the same steely qualities to West Ham’s midfield following his summer move to London.

The 30-year-old, who fouled at a rate of 1.12 times per 90 in La Liga last term, committed two fouls on his debut against Aston Villa and fouled again when he started in the Irons’ subsequent fixture against Crystal Palace.

Despite only featuring in 31 minutes of West Ham’s Carabao Cup clash with Bournemouth in midweek, Rodriguez still found time to give away another free kick, so expect more of the same from the club’s new enforcer against a possession-hungry City side on Saturday.

The link between high possession and corner stats is an easy one to make and as the Premier League’s most dominant side in terms of ball control and territory, City tend to win plenty of corner kicks.

Last season, they won 7.53 corners per 90 and their average after two weeks of the new campaign is already sitting at a healthy 6.50 per game. That tally should climb even higher as the months roll by and City could bolster their figures with a lofty corner count against West Ham.

In both meetings with the Irons in 2023/24, City won a mammoth 11 corners and though they should be capable of another double-figure corner bounty, we’re aiming lower (over 4.5) to ensure this leg lands.

Erling Haaland is hunting a third successive Premier League Golden Boot this season and the prolific Norwegian’s early-season sharpness suggests that his chances of landing that individual accolade again are high.

Haaland’s hat-trick against Ipswich last weekend boosted his tally to four goals after just two Premier League matchdays and the red-hot 24-year-old should have more chances to bury at West Ham.

Haaland has scored four goals in four appearances against the Hammers and three of those efforts were registered at the London Stadium. The ex-Dortmund star tends to shine in the east end, so back him to maintain his early purple patch.

Tomas Soucek has been throwing his considerable frame into his markers in the campaign’s opening weeks and the Czech Republic international has already committed 2.63 fouls per 90 minutes for West Ham.

Soucek committed a staggering five fouls in one sitting against Crystal Palace last week and another three in the Irons’ narrow 1-0 midweek Carabao Cup triumph over Bournemouth, and the 29-year-old is likely to be a mover in the foul market again on Saturday.

The attacking midfielder committed four fouls when West Ham last locked horns with City in May and his penchant for launching into both ground and aerial duels with gusto makes him top value in the 2+ fouls range again.

While their card count doesn’t quite reflect it just yet, West Ham have been noticeably more aggressive under Julen Lopetegui this season, much to the enthusiasm of their supporters who were often frustrated about the team’s passiveness under David Moyes.

Indeed, the Irons rank top in the Premier League after two rounds of fixtures for total fouls committed (35) having given away 18 free kicks against Villa and another 17 against Crystal Palace on matchdays one and two.

West Ham committed another 14 fouls and collected three yellow cards against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening and we’re tipping them to tackle with just as much mustard in an attempt to disrupt City’s rhythm on Saturday.

Enigmatic winger Jeremy Doku averaged 1.07 shots on target per 90 minutes during his maiden campaign with City last term, though he improved on that figure in both of his appearances against West Ham in 2023/24.

Doku managed to get two attempts on target when City cruised to victory over West Ham in May, while the Belgian winger hit another two shots on target when the Citizens visited the London Stadium to tackle the Irons in last year’s corresponding fixture.

The 22-year-old seemed to have the measure of Hammers fullback Vladimir Coufal on each occasion and Doku could have the same defender on toast again if the pair renew acquaintances on Saturday. As a result, Doku is a hugely attractive option in the 1+ shots on target bracket here.