90 min +4: A lot of whistling going on. No time for bubbles.

90 min +3: Jovetic turns down the inside-left channel and looks for the top right from the edge of the area. Adrian arcs his back and tips over spectacularly. The corner’s cleared, but the ball’s soon coming back at West Ham. Kolarov, rather desperately, hammers a shot from 30 yards. It flicks off the head of Collins and over the bar by inches. Another corner, but this one’s easily dealt with by Adrian.

90 min +2: City have the ball, but they’re going nowhere with it.

90 min +1: A lot of faffing around. West Ham are perfectly happy with this state of affairs.

90 min: Milner cuts in from the left and rolls a fine ball down the channel to find Toure in the area. Toure takes a touch, then has a shot. It finds the side netting. But City still have hope: there’s going to be five added minutes.

89 min: Kolarov wins a corner off Kouyate down the left. Sakho, who has today become the first West Ham United player to score in six successive Premier League games, is afforded a standing ovation. He’s replaced by Nolan. And then the set piece - whacked clear by Nolan. Sam Allardyce knows what he’s doing, doesn’t he?

87 min: City are passing, passing and pressing, but West Ham, sitting back, are holding firm. Navas eventually gets fed up, hoicks a cross into the West Ham box, allowing Adrian to claim. Relief for the home side.

85 min: Sakho enters the City box from the right. He goes down while tussling for the ball with Mangala. No penalty, but he suffers a whack to the noggin from Hart’s knee, and takes the opportunity to stay down and let the clock do its thing. Kompany isn’t very happy about it, and discusses the measurement of the fourth dimension with the referee.

83 min: Aguero and Silva glide at speed down the inside-right channel. Silva very nearly releases Jovetic into the area down the left, but Sakho is back to intercept. West Ham flood upfield, and Noble has a half-decent effort from ten yards, looking for the bottom left. Hart gathers. These West Ham lads really know to put in a shift.

81 min: Panic in the West Ham box pt. II and III. First Kolarov is inches away from toe-poking a left-wing cross into the net. Then Toure lashes a shot miles over the bar for three rugby points. What a finish to a wonderfully open game of football we’ve got on our hands here!

80 min: Panic in the West Ham box as Navas lifts a ball straight down the middle. Aguero has a snapshot that’s blocked. Kolarov puts the rebound over.

78 min: In between the goals, Cole came on for Valencia. City have now made a couple of changes of their own, Kolarov and Milner coming on for Fernando and Clichy.

74 min: Aguero and Silva tip and tap their way down the inside-left, but neither can fashion space for a shot. They pull the ball back to Toure, who curls a shot towards the top corner. It shaves the bar. So nearly an equaliser, but then ...

71 min: West Ham look the more likely. Song in space down the right. He cuts the ball back for Sakho, who attempts to power a sidefooter into the top right. He’s inches away, a wonderful effort.

68 min: Kompany cynically clips Valencia to the floor in the centre circle. He’s beginning to test the referee’s patience. One more of these snarky challenges, and he might well be walking. “Aguero is not the only one who should have a red card - if that rendition of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles isn’t a sending-off offence, I don’t know what is,” opines trad jazz’s Marie Mayer.

67 min: West Ham are inches away from putting some clear claret-and-blue sea between the teams. Valencia turns on the burners down the left, reaches the byline, and slides a ball into the centre. Hart’s beaten, and Sakho’s ready to poke home, but Kompany slides in to intercept just as all looked lost.

66 min: City have at least been a little livelier since Jovetic’s introduction, and so Sam Allardyce is taking no chances. He shores up his midfield with Kouyate, who replaces Amalfitano.

65 min: City wake up again, Toure injecting a bit of pace down the inside-right channel and slipping the ball out to Navas, who whips a low ball to the near post. Aguero should score, but somehow batters the ball onto the crossbar from six yards. What a miss! Toure can’t bundle the rebound over the line, Adrian snaffling. That is an outrageous miss. It’s not looking like City’s day.

63 min: There goes City’s brief burst of momentum.

60 min: Aguero has two snapshots from a tight angle on the left. Adrian parries, then Collins blocks. City are soon coming back at West Ham, through the same player, who sees a third effort from an unpromising position down the left wing hacked clear. Better from City, who have finally turned up.

59 min: Jovetic replaces a clumpish Dzeko.

58 min: City can’t string two passes together at the moment. The home fans entertain themselves by mocking this ineptitude using the satirical device of jeering. Noble lifts a ball into the City box from the left. Sakho meets the dropping ball with a searing volley towards the top left that beats a flat-footed Hart and only just clears the bar.

55 min: Zabaleta has Aguero in space down the right, but passes the ball straight out of play. Aguero still has a look of impotent frustration plastered all over his mug. It’s just not happening for City, they’re not dealing with West Ham’s intense pressing game very well at all.

53 min: Kompany, already on a booking, comes through the back of Valencia as the pair challenge for a high ball, 30 yards from the City goal. It would have been a harsh second yellow, and therefore an eyebrow-raising sending off, but you’ve seen those decisions given. West Ham settle for the free kick. Valencia’s effort is deflected, but Song chests down the rebound, to the right of goal, and curls the ball back into the middle, where an uncertain Downing lashes wide right from 10 yards. That should have been 2-0. If Downing had confidence in his own ability, he’d be one hell of a player.

51 min: Downing clips a cross into the City box from the right. Valencia meets it with a powerful header, but it’s straight at Hart and he’s offside anyway. Hearts in City mouths for a second there, mind you. They’re not on their game at all.

49 min: Navas takes a couple of strides down the right wing and wins a corner off Amalfitano. The set piece is gobbled up by Sakho, who races clear of a lumbering Toure, the danger easily snuffed out. City, already trailing Chelsea in the league, need to change something and quick.

47 min: The corner’s a non-event, but City look to break upfield through Silva. Song falls on the ball and handles. His name’s quite rightly put in the book.

And we’re off again! West Ham hoick it immediately upfield, and Cresswell wins a corner off Kompany within the first 20 seconds of the restart. The corner in a minute. But first, here’s something everyone, including the referee, missed just before the break. Aguero, frustrated, went in studs up on Noble, and brought his foot down on the West Ham midfielder’s ankle. It’s a red card all day long, that, as dangerous and spiteful as it comes.

Half-time bippity-boppity entertainment:

45 min: From the resulting free kick, West Ham nearly score. Some training-ground triangulation down the left, and suddenly Amalfitano is released into the area down the channel. He zips a cross straight through the area, Sakho millimetres away from sliding in to toe-poke home. City need to hear the half-time whistle. They need to regroup.

44 min: Kompany is booked for clattering into Valencia as the West Ham man picks up his heels down the left wing. He doesn’t bother complaining.

43 min: Song’s pass out to the right is inches away from setting Jenkinson clear on goal. It’s underhit slightly, and Clichy can cover. City aren’t covering themselves in glory at the back this afternoon.

41 min: Amalfitano busies himself down the left and feeds Cresswell on the overlap. The left-back wins a corner. Noble’s set piece is easily cleared, but West Ham are soon coming back at their guests. Cresswell again makes good down the left, and pulls a low ball into the middle. Valencia, level with the left-hand post on the edge of the area, meets it first time and sidefoots powerfully inches wide of the upright. Not sure Hart had that covered.

38 min: Aguero takes up possession down the inside-right channel. He cuts inside and skitters across the front of the West Ham box. He thinks about shooting, but opts to go down rather easily under a clumsy challenge by Reid. This’ll be a free kick, dead central, just outside the West Ham D. Toure steps up and batters the ball into the wall not once, but twice. What a witless waste.

36 min: Song tumbles Aguero to the floor down the right wing. City have a free kick in a dangerous position, 25 yards out. Navas loops a cross in. Dzeko, on the penalty spot, rises to head, but he’s impeded by his own man Mangala, and the ball harmlessly pings off the top of his nut and out of play to the left.

34 min: City are still passing it around a lot, but it’s all pretty ponderous. West Ham look fairly comfortable right now.

32 min: A lull, but suddenly City spring into life, Aguero lashing low and hard towards the bottom left from 25 yards. Adrian’s got it covered, and the ball fizzes just wide of the target.

28 min: Sakho powers down the right and crosses for Valencia, who can’t quite get a head to it. The ball flies back out to Downing, who from 12 yards so nearly guides a header into the top right. The effort’s just over the bar. West Ham look like a damn fine attacking outfit. All hail pragmatism’s Sam Allardyce, huh?

27 min: Aguero and Silva exchange crisp passes down the inside-left channel. The latter breaks into the area, but just as everything’s opening up for him, the ball clanks off his shin and rolls through to a grateful Adrian.

26 min: Amalfitano thinks about whacking a dropping ball goalwards from 25 yards. Toure gets to it just in time, and nudges it away. City have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, and carved out a fair few chances too, but they don’t look particularly solid at the back today.

24 min: Amalfitano jumped into the crowd to celebrate his goal. Given he’s on a booking, that’s taking a risk, though of course it would be the most miserable of yellow cards, and a preposterous sending off. Happily, the referee’s not a picky bugger. City respond to going behind well, winning a corner down the left, Aguero putting himself about. The set piece is whipped to the near post, where Dzeko lashes a first-time rising effort over the bar while looking for the top-right corner. Not far away at all.

19 min: West Ham lift a simple free kick straight down the middle. Sakho eyebrows it forward, on the edge of the City box. Valencia chases after it, and clatters into Hart, who manages to bundle clear. An accidental collision, both players entitled to go for the ball, even though it turns out Valencia was a tad offside as Sakho headed on. Hart requires a press of the magic sponge on his coupon, but he’s soon up and about again.

17 min: Hart doesn’t half like playing silly buggers with the ball at his feet sometimes. Here he is, pausing unnecessarily after taking receipt of a Clichy backpass. Sakho nearly robs him of possession, but after taking a risk in his own six-yard box, Hart eventually puts his foot through it.

14 min: City might have completed 63 passes now, or perhaps 64 or 65. They’ve won a corner down the right, anyway. It’s wasted, hit long, Augero guiding it out of play to the left of goal. West Ham have probably done another pass, too. Look forward to reading a few columns about that next week, should that turn out to be the case!

13 min: Here’s one for fans of statistics, and who doesn’t enjoy reading about them, they’re lovely to read about, so fascinating and lyrical, painting pictures. City have completed 62 passes so far, while West Ham have managed eight.

11 min: Clichy, Toure and Dzeko, combine down the City left. Clichy is eventually found tight on the touchline. He whips a low ball towards the near post, where Dzeko prods towards the corner. Adrian turns the ball round the upright. Corner? Nope, because Dzeko was a couple of inches offside. Good decision.

9 min: But City hesitate at the back, Kompany and Mangala beaten by Valencia and Sakho respectively as West Ham help a high ball down the inside-left channel and into the City area. Sakho’s challenge sends the ball looping goalwards, and Hart is forced to backtrack and tip over. The corner leads to naught, but that’s a decent response by the home side, who were feeling the heat back there for a couple of minutes.

8 min: West Ham are suddenly on the back foot, and City are on top. Amalfitano is booked for a crude lunge on Navas after the City winger chases after a Zabaleta pass down the right wing. That’ll be a free kick to the right of the West Ham box. Navas gets up and takes the free kick himself, whipping the cross in for Kompany, who heads over from eight yards.

6 min: Noble chases after Aguero, who is dribbling down the middle of the park, and hacks him down, just before the striker reaches the D. Silva takes the free kick, getting the ball up and over the wall, but not quite back down. He’s looking for the top right, but it’s over the bar. Only just, though. City have hardly strung two passes together, and yet they’ve already come very close twice.

4 min: A free kick for West Ham on the halfway line, won by Downing. Cresswell lifts the ball into the City box. Hart punches clear. Still a bit all over the shop, this game.

2 min: City have started in a very uncertain fashion. Hart hoicks a clearance straight out of play down the left. But West Ham soon gift the ball back, and Aguero is making good for the West Ham box. He has a Power Dig from 20-odd yards, the ball ballooning off the back of Collins, looping up then down and towards the bottom-left corner. Adrian is forced to dive and Gordon Banks the ball round the post for a corner. Nothing comes from the set piece. All a bit scruffy, Aguero honourably excepted.

And we’re off! City get the ball rolling, and they almost immediately lose the thing. Valencia has a whack from 25 yards, sending it roughly 25 yards to the right of the target. The only way is up for all concerned.

The teams are out! West Ham United are in their famous claret-and-blue shirts, while Manchester City should be playing in their equally iconic powder-blue tops, but aren’t. They’re in their change colours of dark blue. Why? You know why. A quick blast from the PA system of that squelchy-bass version of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles, and then we’ll be off.

West Ham United: Adrian, Jenkinson, Reid, Collins, Cresswell, Song, Amalfitano, Noble, Downing, Sakho, Valencia.
Subs: Nolan, Kouyate, Vaz Te, O’Brien, Jaaskelainen, Poyet, Cole.

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Mangala, Kompany, Clichy, Jesus Navas, Fernando, Toure, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko.
Subs: Sagna, Milner, Kolarov, Caballero, Fernandinho, Demichelis, Jovetic.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

The Hammers are unchanged from the team which won at Burnley, where Diafra Sakho scored for a sixth consecutive game. Meanwhile for City, Gael Clichy and Jesus Navas come in from the CSKA Moscow cold.

Manchester City beat West Ham United 3-1, 6-0, 3-0 and 2-0 last season. An aggregate score of 14-1. The Hammers will be wanting to improve on this today, I’ll be bound. But then this is pretty much what we said about Tottenham Hotspur this time last week, and look what happened then.

West Ham will have high hopes, though. They’re playing at home, for a start, where after a slow start to the season they’ve won two on the bounce, against Liverpool and QPR. During a recent burst of impressive form - three wins in the last four - they’ve also acquitted themselves well at Manchester United, and won at Burnley. After a decent summer of business - step, nay sashay, forward, Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia - they’re suddenly a very tidy outfit. Everyone’s talking about Southampton as this season’s Premier League breakout characters, but West Ham, currently under the radar, could be even better. The leftfield choice de nos jours. The hipster’s Southampton. Reigning champions City may have scored 20 goals in their last six matches, but they face a tricky test today.

Kick off: 12.45pm.