The heat is on in the Premier League. And it won’t be dying down in the next couple of weeks. Arsenal easily defeated Chelsea last night and snatched the leader’s baton once again but mathematically Manchester City still have their destiny in their own hands. Cityzens’ next stop in their title retaining endeavor are West Ham who are close to reaching safety in the English top tier.Manchester City beat Fulham 2-1 on Sunday as Erling Haaland notched his 50th competitive strike of the season – the first man to do so in England since 1931. Back then, Man City were beginning an eight-match winless head-to-head streak against West Ham United, but these days things are very different as they’ve only lost one of the last 16 meetings (W13, D3).Last week’s potentially Premier League title-deciding 4-1 win here over Arsenal was the Cityzens’ seventh successive home league victory, the last three of them all seeing them net at least three times. But West Ham have proved worthy opponents in recent times, as although Man City have won their last six meetings at home, none of the last five saw them score more than twice.Arteta: We’re back to our best; Lampard: We were too nice, players do careUnhappy West Ham manager David Moyes may face the wrath of the FA for suggesting his side has been “disrespected” by officials recently, so ahead of a grueling set of fixtures including both Manchester clubs and the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final against AZ Alkmaar, the last thing he needed was Saturday’s 4-3 defeat by Crystal Palace – their first ever Premier League away defeat after scoring three times!They’re still looking nervously over their shoulder towards the relegation zone despite winning two of their three league away fixtures last month (L1), but the Hammers have travelled poorly this term (W3, D3, L10). This is therefore another daunting task for them, highlighted by the fact that their leading scorer in away head-to-heads remains Sir Geoff Hurst with three goals!Manchester City v West Ham United Players’ Premier League Combined Goals & Assists Season 2022-23 ahead of tonight’s game at the Etihad Stadium #MCFC #COYIhttps://t.co/PcsCbdoSTF pic.twitter.com/DUWewRp7Ez— Soccer Facts (@Soccer_Stats) May 3, 2023 Elsewhere, some 50 kilometers away, another London club is coming to visit the North West. Fulham are Liverpool’s next hurdle and just a few weeks ago the prospect of the Reds not featuring in European competition next season was a genuine reality. But a remarkable turnaround has seen them win four Premier League matches on the bounce to quash those fears. The latest of which was their dramatic 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur, where despite going 3-0 up after just 15 minutes, the Reds required substitute Diogo Jota to net a 94th-minute winner to secure all three points.The match seemed to take a psychological toll on manager Jürgen Klopp, who should be reveling in the fact that Jota’s winner was the sixth time one of his substitutes has scored a 90+ minute winner in the Premier League, the joint-most of any manager. Instead, Klopp got booked after celebrating the goal in the face of the fourth official before seemingly pulling his hamstring, too! He also made accusatory remarks about referee Paul Tierney after the game, landing himself in hot water with the FA.Marco Silva on Liverpool:”They are in a good moment in the last few games, they have been achieving good results and scoring goals, with all the players in the attack line in better form right now.” #lfc [fulham fc via liverpool echo] pic.twitter.com/FCaBW8K7b3— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) May 1, 2023 Visitors Fulham will aim to capitalise on their hosts’ potential emotional fatigue, as they aim to snap a two-game losing run and extend their recent unbeaten run against Liverpool to four matches (W1, D2). Marco Silva’s men showed their fighting spirit despite going down 2-1 to title-chasing Manchester City last time out, although that was the seventh time in eight matches they’ve lost to a team starting the day above them in the standings (W1).That will be something they look to overcome when traveling to Anfield, with the Cottagers currently tenth in the Premier League table. The odds will be stacked against them, however, having lost four of their last five away assignments (W1).PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 28Postponed matches22:00: (1.22) Man.City (7.25) West Ham (15.0)22:00: (1.30) Liverpool (6.50) Fulham (10.0)Thursday22:00: (2.10) Brighton (3.60) Man.Utd. (3.60)***odds are subject to change***
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