West Bromwich Albion welcome Manchester City to The Hawthorns in a midweek Premier League clash.
Victory will lift West Brom above Fulham into 18th and move three points closer towards safety, whereas Man City can go top with a win.
Team News
Karlan Grant could return for West Brom after recovering from a foot injury that kept him out for the Baggies’ last three matches in all competitions.
Matt Phillips (Coronavirus) could also feature but Grady Diangana (hamstring) and Conor Townsend (knee) are set to remain absent until fully fit.
Man City are set to welcome Kyle Walker back after he missed their FA Cup win at Cheltenham Town on Saturday with a knock to his hip.
Nathan Ake (muscle), Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) and Sergio Aguero (Coronavirus) remains sidelined.
Stat Attack
- West Brom are winless in their last 18 Premier League meetings against Man City (D2, L16)
- Man City have avoided defeat in their last eight league trips to The Hawthorns (W7, D1).
- West Brom have never been awarded a penalty against Man City in 25 previous Premier League clashes.
- Phil Foden’s is City’s current outright top goal scorer this season after scoring nine goals in 25 appearances across all competitions.
- All four of Matheus Pereira’s league goals for West Brom this season have come on his left foot.
Prediction
West Brom will come into this game with the benefit of having had a week to prepare for this fixture, which is a positive given that this is one of their bogey fixtures and they are continuing to show signs of progress in recent games although defensive errors cost them at West Ham.
City meanwhile will have to make do without De Bruyne who has been highly influential to their play, whilst Cheltenham’s compact style showed how vulnerable City can still be for all of their dominance.
Naturally I would say that City will take a comfortable win on both form and track record in this fixture across the last decade, yet if West Brom decide to go compact then I can see them causing serious issues for City given their superior fitness levels compared to Cheltenham and nicking a point.
Prediction: WBA 1-1 Manchester City
Result: WBA 0-5 Manchester City
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