Manchester City - West Ham: A shortage of cards

Manchester City host West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. I think there's some value to be found in the cards market.

Manchester City

The Citizens look cemented at 2nd place, Pep Guardiola's team now a shocking 22 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Statistics

Only Liverpool committed fewer fouls than Manchester City last season in the Premier League, Manchester City committing on average 8.29 fouls per game.
Looking at home games specifically, only 2 teams committed fewer fouls than Manchester City last season in the Premier League, Manchester City committing on average 8.53 fouls per game.

This season looks set to continue in roughly the same way. Only 4 teams have committed fewer fouls at home than Manchester City so far this season, the Sportcity outfit committing on average 9.58 fouls per game.

So far this season, Manchester City have played a particularly hospitable and smooth game when facing bottom half teams at the Etihad Stadium:

No other team have committed fewer fouls at home than Manchester City when facing bottom 5 teams.

West Ham United

The Irons are in for a relegation battle for sure. David Moyes' men reside at spot 18 at the moment, just 1 point adrift safe ground.

Statistics

West Ham commit around the average amount of fouls per game so far this season, the East London club committing on average 10.75 fouls per game.
However; when away from London Stadium, West Ham commit on average 11.67 fouls per game - only 2 teams have committed more fouls on the road so far this season.

Looking at games against top 5 teams specifically, West Ham commit quite a lot of fouls too:

Only 2 teams have committed more fouls than West Ham when facing top 5 teams.

Referee

Referee on Sunday is Graham Scott. When officiating games in the Premier League, he's displaying one of the lowest average numbers of cards per game in the league.
Last season, only Andy Madley (who oversaw only 2 games) handed out fewer yellow cards per game than Scott in the Premier League, Scott handing out on average 2.24 yellow cards per game.
So far this season, only 3 referees have handed out fewer yellow cards per game than Scott in the Premier League, Scott handing out on average 3.00 yellow cards per game (2 of the referees handing out fewer cards has been in charge of just 1 game each).

Check out more Premier League stats here!

Conclusion & Betting Tips

Manchester City is one the team committing the least number of fouls, especially at home to bottom half and bottom 5 teams.
West Ham is one the team committing the most fouls on the road and against top 5 teams.
The referee is relatively tolerant when officiating games in the Premier League; if there are cards on display come Sunday, the home team is the least likely entrant to receive them.
Also, the last 5 games between Manchester City and West Ham have seen an average of 2.20 cards per game, Manchester City picking up on average 1.00 cards per game.
Betting Tip: Total Cards: Under 2.5.
Stake at 5/10 units.
Betting Tip: Total Cards - Home Team: Under 0.5.
Stake at 2.5/10 units.

Check out more odds on Manchester City - West Ham here!