Manchester City are amidst a freefall, but will look to rebound on Sunday. The first-division clash against West Ham is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on NBC Sports.
The Stage
As it stands, Manchester City must face the dreaded playoff to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League next season. With Manchester United's 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Saturday, however, the opportunity is there for the Citizens to close the gap for third in the Premier League to one point.
Perhaps of more importance is maintaining the four-point lead over Liverpool for fourth. According to manager Manuel Pellegrini, falling out of the top four would be disastrous for the club.
"Not to play in the Champions League would be a disaster," Pellegrini said (via the Guardian). "People are wrong to think that the owners of this club say: 'Win the title or you're out,' because they don't. I don't think that is the way they think. They have a project and that means a lot of things."
The In-Form Player
Few players in Manchester enter the weekend riding decent form. Then again, few players are David Silva. In 26 appearances, the 29-year-old has 11 goals and four assists.
Projected Lineups
West Ham (4-3-2-1): Adrian; Cresswell, Reid, Collins, Jenkinson; Kouyate, Song, Noble; Downing, Nolan; Cole
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Kolarov, Mangala, Demichelis, Zabaleta; Fernandinho, Toure, Silva, Lampard, Nasri; Aguero
Updated League Table
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 32 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 65 | 26 | 39 | 76 | |||
| 2 | Arsenal | 32 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 63 | 32 | 31 | 66 | |||
| 3 | Manchester United | 33 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 59 | 31 | 28 | 65 | |||
| 4 | Manchester City | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 65 | 34 | 31 | 61 | |||
| 5 | Liverpool | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 36 | 11 | 57 | |||
| 6 | Southampton | 33 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 24 | 21 | 56 | |||
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 50 | 46 | 4 | 54 | |||
| 8 | Swansea City | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 42 | -4 | 47 | |||
| 9 | Stoke City | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 38 | 41 | -3 | 46 | |||
| 10 | West Ham United | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 42 | 40 | 2 | 43 | |||
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 42 | 45 | -3 | 42 | |||
| 12 | Everton | 33 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 41 | 43 | -2 | 41 | |||
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 33 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 32 | 46 | -14 | 36 | |||
| 14 | Newcastle United | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 33 | 51 | -18 | 35 | |||
| 15 | Aston Villa | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 45 | -21 | 32 | |||
| 16 | Sunderland | 32 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 25 | 48 | -23 | 29 | |||
| 17 | Hull City | 32 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 29 | 45 | -16 | 28 | |||
| 18 | Leicester City | 32 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 34 | 51 | -17 | 28 | |||
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 33 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 38 | 59 | -21 | 26 | |||
| 20 | Burnley | 33 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 51 | -25 | 26 |
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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