With the November international break now firmly behind us, it means that Premier League action is just around the corner and for West Ham they return to the fold with arguably the biggest challenge of them all. That being the visit of defending champions Manchester City.
Of course, the visit of Manchester City also creates its own interesting sub-plot. That being the fact that Manuel Pellegrini was in charge at the Etihad when the club won the Premier League back in 2013/14.
A lot has changed since then as City have gone from strength to strength under current manager Pep Guardiola and this weekend they will look to keep hold of top spot after recently opening up a two point gap over nearest rivals Liverpool.
For the Hammers they come into this game in relatively decent form having picked up four points from their last six. However, those points came from a win against Burnley and a draw against Huddersfield.
And it is fair to say that the visit of the defending champions offers up a totally different proposition. At the same time there’s no real pressure on the Hammers to get a result either, as they find themselves in the relative comfort of 13th in the table.
Those four points that they have earned in their last two outings has just given them enough of a buffer between themselves and the drop zone at present, a situation that offers the East London outfit something of a free hit.
One should also not forget that these two clubs have something in common this season, that being the fact that they have both claimed the scalp of Manchester United in front of their own fans and both by the same 3-1 score.
City’s win over their arch rivals was one that came in their last outing before the international break as they earned Manchester bragging rights for the next few months. It was a game that they were never really troubled in and had they been more ruthless then it could have been a far bigger margin of victory.
Pep Guardiola said after the game that he was not happy with the performance, but perhaps that is the perfectionist in him speaking. Even if his comments alluded to displeasure, he must have taken delight in the way his side wrapped up all three points.
A sensational 44 pass move was finally completed by German international Ilkay Gundogan. The midfielder had the easy task of prodding home from close range after he and his teammates simply passed their opponents into submission.
West Ham will have to be careful that they are not toyed with, but if anyone knows what makes City tick it will be their manager Manuel Pellegrini as he looks to complete an unlikely set of double Manchester scalps this season.
It seems unlikely because the league leaders are not only top of the pile right now, but they are also unbeaten, and there is little to suggest that run comes to an end this weekend. All signs point to a win for the visitors.