In fact, if West Ham fail to win this match, they are guaranteed to be in the relegation zone at Christmas.
Here's everything you need to know about the match:
How to watch?
The match will not be telecast in the UK because of the 3 PM Saturday blackout.
Paramount will telecast the match in the U.S., JioStar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Erling Haaland now has supportThe fact that Erling Haaland has scored 17 goals in the Prem already is amazing. But at point it was pointing at a bit of a problem for Man City.
You see, in the first 10 league games, Haaland had scored 13 goals, while everyone else in the team combined for five. At that point, the joke was that Burnley's Maxime Esteve (with two own goals) was City's second-highest scorer. Over the past six Prem games though, the problem has been addressed somewhat emphatically.
In that period, Haaland has four goals ... and others have combined for 14. Their second highest scorer is now Phil Foden (7). Rayan Cherki is the league's second highest assist provider (6) while Jermey Doku is fourth on that list (4).
Foden's return to goalscoring form, Cherki settling in, Doku finding consistency have all been huge contributing factors -- and with Haaland still scoring buckets, it makes City a very, very dangerous proposition.
The Bowen-Wilson partnership is working, not much else isJarrod Bowen has five goals, Callum Wilson has four and they have linked up rather well up top. Not only are they West Ham's top scorers this season, they are also top two in shots per 90 at the club (Bowen 2.6 and Wilson 2.2).
While they've struggled for consistency across the park, Nuno Espirito Santo seems to have atleast settled one part of the team with this duo. Wilson's pace and clever movement in the box keep defenders on their toes while Bowen -- West Ham's best player for years now -- has directness, an eye for both a goal and a pass, and an X-factor that no one else in the side seems to possess.
If they are to get a result at the Etihad, the two will have to bring their A-game, and hope that those behind them can feed them the ball often (and quickly) enough.
AFCON impact on the HammersWest Ham will lose both their first-choice full backs to the Africa Cup of Nations -- and they're one of the few non-Bowen-Wilson bright points for the Hammers this season.
As per Opta, El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo) account for nearly 40% of the 176 crosses West Ham have put in this season, with new signing Diouf being West Ham's leading assist provider in the Prem (3).
In defence, meanwhile, the duo rank first and second for interceptions -- and Wan Bissaka's solidity against pacy dribblers of the ilk of Savinho (and the adventurous Nico O'Reilly) will be sorely missed. Their covers in terms of fullbacks are Kyle Walker-Peters, Igor Julio and Oliver Scarles -- and they are downgrades on the duo.
Meanwhile, Man City will also miss two players -- Omar Marmoush (Egypt) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) -- but considering they've only had about 200 mins of action each in the Prem this season, their absence won't make nearly as much of a difference to them.
City are keeping the pressure up on ArsenalThis weekend, Man City play before Arsenal and have the chance to go temporarily above them before the current leaders visit Everton later on Saturday. As Mark Ogden writes here: "When does a Premier League title wobble become cause for the panic button to be pressed? From an Arsenal perspective, it is when Manchester City start to appear in the rearview mirror, and that anxious moment has now arrived for Mikel Arteta and his players."
City come into the weekend on the back of a four-game Prem winning streak, while Arsenal's last four results read: WLWD; and that last win was anything but convincing. City will now look to keep cranking up the pressure with the fixtures coming thick and fast.
The head-to-head that West Ham fans don't want to readIf you're a West Ham fan, there's simply no good way of looking at this:
Man City have won their last five Prem games against West Ham, scoring at least three goals each time.
Pep Guardiola has faced West Ham more often without ever losing than he has any other opponent (W17 D3). (Even if one of those draws did result in a penalty shootout defeat in the 2021-22 League Cup).
Erling Haaland has scored nine goals in the league against West Ham. He's only scored more against Wolves (10).
Man City have lost none of their last 46 Premier League home games against sides starting the day in the relegation zone (W42 D4).
