MANCHESTER CITY
Premier League, Wednesday 3 May 2023, 8pm BST
West Ham United travel to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening for a Premier League fixture rearranged due to Manchester City’s march to the Emirates FA Cup final.
The Citizens have since gone on to reach the final without conceding a single goal, while Pep Guardiola’s side are also odds-on to win the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles.
West Ham will hope to have something to say about the former, at least, when they make the trip to east Manchester a week tonight.
However, if the Londoners are going to slow City’s charge towards a fifth title in six years, then they will need to do something they have not done at the Etihad since the 2015/16 season – win.
Manager David Moyes will also hope to change his own personal record at Manchester City, which reads played four, lost four, as West Ham boss.
Records are made to be broken, though, and Moyes will hope his team’s recent resurgence can continue and he can achieve his second career victory over Pep Guardiola – the first came in last season’s EFL Cup fourth round at London Stadium.
How to get there…
As is the case with so many football stadia these days, it is recommended that supporters take public transport, rather than driving to the game. However, with this being a midweek evening fixture, taking the train will necessitate an overnight stay in Manchester.
If you are taking the train up from London, take a service from Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.
From Piccadilly, take the Metrolink to Etihad Campus, from where it is a short walk to the stadium.
If you do drive, park at one of the many Metrolink stations which have Park and Ride car parks, and board the tram to the ground. For a full list, click here.
Where to stay…
As England’s second-largest urban area, Manchester and its surrounding towns have plenty of accommodation options to suit all budgets and tastes.
There are some sensational hotels in the city, many of which are either within walking distance of the Metrolink or a short taxi ride to the Etihad Stadium.
For those for whom price is more important than style, there are the usual chain options in and around the city centre.
What to do…
As a city that flourished and grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, many of Manchester’s major sights derive from the Victorian period.
If you arrive in the city with some time to explore before heading to Etihad Stadium, the Science and Industry Museum is a fascinating museum based in the country’s first railway station, Liverpool Road.
If you’d rather stick to the Beautiful Game, the National Football Museum is situated in Cathedral Gardens to the north of the city centre, and houses the world’s finest collection of football objects and memorabilia, the English Football Hall of Fame, as well as interactive games for all the family.
Many of the exhibits have a link with West Ham United, including Geoff Hurst and Bobby Moore’s boots and Hurst’s shirt from England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup final win over West Germany.
What’s happened there before…
As mentioned, we have not exactly had a great time on our recent visits to Etihad Stadium, with our last six Premier League trips to Manchester City all ending in home wins, and West Ham United scoring just four goals in total in those matches.
Our last win at the Etihad was during the Farewell Boleyn season, 2015/16, when first-half goals from Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho secured a 2-1 success – our only victory in 16 Premier League visits to City’s new home, which was originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games..
In fact, that was our last Premier League win over Manchester City anywhere, with City winning eleven and drawing three of the 14 meetings since.
