Pep Guardiola insisted his Manchester City team will be fit and firing in the Premier League after resting some of his key stars for their midweek victory in the EFL Cup. 

Guardiola made seven changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace for their quarter-final against Brentford, which they won 2-0 thanks to goals from Rayan Cherki and Savinho.

Though the likes of Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes were introduced, Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias were rested ahead of facing West Ham. 

City are second in the Premier League table and just two points adrift of leaders Arsenal, with Guardiola lauding his squad's togetherness during the hectic festive schedule. 

"We have had a run of a lot of games for Erling [Haaland], for example, and Ruben [Dias] and the other ones, and they have to be ready," Guardiola said.

"After [West Ham] we have seven days before Nottingham Forest and four or five days before Sunderland and, again, a crazy schedule.

"So, we have to do it [give them a rest] and we talk a lot about these days, everyone being connected. And the guys on the bench are connected, and they prove it.

"Matheus was so focused, Bernardo was always there, everyone was there. Josko was there and was incredibly committed.

"We need three more days. We don't have much time to prepare our game. One day, but we are used to it, of course."

And Guardiola's team come up against a West Ham side who have failed to win their last five league games, having picked up some form under Nuno Espirito Santo last month. 

A defeat to Liverpool came in between draws with Bournemouth, Manchester United and Brighton, before the Hammers lost to Aston Villa 3-2 last time out on home soil. 

But Nuno's hopes of a win at Etihad Stadium this Saturday have been dented, with both El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka departing for the African Cup of Nations. 

The West Ham boss insisted that his team must find solutions to combat their absences, while also confirming that striker Niclas Fullkrug was edging closer to a potential return. 

"There are two points [on the absence of Diouf and Wan-Bissaka]. I'm happy for them, because I think it's important to go and represent your national teams," Nuno said.

"But, as a squad, we are going to miss them. We have to deal with the situation, though. AFCON is something that's been in the schedule, so it's up to us to find solutions.

"We have to find players who can come into those positions, and Kyle and Ollie are the options. Niclas has returned. He returned today to part of the session, which is positive."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City – Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland has scored nine Premier League goals against West Ham, only netting more against Wolves (10).

He could be the ninth player to score 10+ against the Hammers, and only the third non-Englishman after Mohamed Salah and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

West Ham – Jarrod Bowen

In a disappointing season for West Ham, Jarrod Bowen has led by example, registering team-high totals for goals (five) and completed dribbles (25), while only Mateus Fernandes (17) and Lucas Paqueta (18) have created more chances than the England international (12).

And with his goal against Aston Villa last time out, Bowen became the second player to reach 100 Premier League goal involvements for West Ham (61 goals, 39 assists), after Michail Antonio (101).

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN

City are unbeaten in their last 19 Premier League games against West Ham (W16 D3) since a 2-1 home defeat in September 2015.

The Citizens have also won their last five top-flight games against West Ham, scoring at least three goals each time. Only Arsenal against Sunderland (2002 to 2007) and Manchester United against Nottingham Forest (1996 to 2022) have won six in a row against an opponent while scoring 3+ goals each time.

Guardiola's side have lost none of their last 46 Premier League home games against sides starting the day in the relegation zone (W42 D4), since a 2-1 loss to Tottenham in November 2008. They've won each of the last 14 by an aggregate score of 43-7.

And they have been imperious on home soil. Indeed, since the start of April, City have won the most home games (12) and home points (36) in the Premier League, failing to win just once in that sequence, a 2-0 defeat to Spurs.

West Ham, meanwhile, have lost 15 of their last 16 Premier League away games against City, with the exception being a 2-1 win in September 2015 under Slaven Bilic.

And should they fail to win this match, they are guaranteed to be in the relegation zone at Christmas. It will be the fifth time they've been in the bottom three on December 25 in the Premier League, though they have avoided relegation on the two previous occasions they were not bottom (18th in 2006-07, 19th in 2009-10).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Manchester City – 76.3%

Draw – 14.1%

West Ham – 9.6%