Three key battles Man City must win to pass West Ham Premier League challenge

Manchester City face West Ham in their penultimate game of the season on Sunday, knowing a win will put them within touching distance of the Premier League title.

Pep Guardiola's side travel to London three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table with two games remaining, and with Liverpool on FA Cup final duty they could extend the gap to six. A win at West Ham would leave City needing just a point on the final day against Aston Villa to clinch a fourth league crown in five seasons. Thanks to their superior goal difference, three points from their final two outings could even be enough.

David Moyes' side are not going to make things easy though. Currently sitting seventh in the table, the Hammers are three points from sixth place and the final Europa League spot, currently occupied by Manchester United. Thanks to a superior goal difference, a win against City would see them leapfrog Ralf Rangnick's side.

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With that kind of motivation behind them, City will have to win a number of key battles on Sunday afternoon.

Dilapidated defence

It's no overstatement to say that City are experiencing something of an injury crisis at the moment. With Kyle Walker, John Stones and Kyle Walker already out for the rest of the season, both Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte limped off during City's 5-1 win at Wolves on Wednesday.

Nathan Ake replaced Laporte in the second half, but he isn't fully fit himself. That means that Rodri could be forced to drop back into defence, or that a youngster like CJ Egan-Riley could be called upon.

Either way, someone without much experience playing in central defence in the Premier League is going to have to cope with the likes