Man City v West Ham Tip

Any way you look at it, it’s basically impossible to predict anything other than an emphatic home victory here. Man City are unbeaten in 14 matches across all competitions while West Ham have won only one of their last 13 league matches and were humiliated 5-0 by Championship Forest on Sunday.

Manuel Pellegrini will surely implore his team to go for the jugular at the Etihad so he can rest all his big guns for the second leg at Upton Park. That ethos should ensure he starts with a strong team on Wednesday but we must still proceed with caution when making a goalscorer wager.

The obvious name to go with in the absence of Sergio Aguero is his strike partner, Alvaro Negredo. ‘The beast’ is nothing longer than 4/5 (Ladbrokes) to score anytime here but I would worry that the Spanish international may be benched after starting against Blackburn at the weekend.

Instead, I recommend Yaya Toure in the same market at best odds of 7/4 with Betfred. The former Barcelona star only came on for 26 minutes at Ewood Park and must be in line for a recall. The Ivory Coast international is enjoying a prolific campaign from midfield having netted 12 times already. After five goals in his last seven outings, he’s the value bet here.