Match preview
Manchester City will travel to the Hawthorns on Tuesday night as they look to momentarily occupy the top spot of the Premier League table. The Citizens could establish a two-point lead with a win over West Brom 24 hours before cross-town rivals Manchester United take on bottom-placed Sheffield United.
Pep Guardiola's men are currently soaring high in confidence after registering an impressive 10-game winning run across all competitions - seven of which are from the Premier League. Having been involved in low-scoring matches at the start of the season, the fortunes of the Etihad outfit have turned in recent weeks with the club scoring 25 goals while conceding just three in their last 10 appearances.
City will approach Tuesday's game with West Brom off the back of their FA Cup triumph over League Two side Cheltenham Town. The Manchester outfit was handed a scare as they were just nine minutes away from elimination. Having conceded the first goal of the 59th, it took Phil Foden's strike in the 81st to restore parity before Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres secured the win for Pep's side with goals in the 84th and the 94th minute respectively.
Against West Brom, they will hope to keep up their winning run at the Hawthorns as their last six visits have all resulted in wins. However, the Baggies will be poised to change the narrative with a fight to survive the drop now their reality. Following a relatively poor start to the season, the club now sits in 19th position in the league with 11 points from 19 appearances. Their ill-fortune ultimately led to the sack of manager Slaven Bilic and the appointment of Sam Allardyce.
Although 'Big Sam' has waved his magic wand to get results against the likes of Liverpool and Wolves, West Brom's season is yet to experience a proper turn around. A 1-1 draw at Manchester City in the first round still lingers in the minds on the players and, on Tuesday, they will hope that will be enough motivation to spur them on to get the maximum points against the league title contenders. Nevertheless, that will require massive efforts as they enter the clash with just a win from their last 10 outings in all competition.
Team news
Both Sam Johnstone and Matt Philips recovered from respective bouts with coronavirus and will be in contention against Manchester City. Karlan Grant and Robert Snodgrass are both ready to feature in the starting lineup after sitting out the defeat to West Ham United. Meanwhile, Grady Diangana and Conor Townsend will be unavailable as they remain on the treatment table.
For Manchester City, they will be required to make due without star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian playmaker is expected to be back for at least four weeks with a hamstring injury. Sergio Aguero is also battling for full fitness after recovering from the coronavirus while Nathan Ake is completely sidelined with a foot injury. Kyle Walker could potentially return to the starting line-up after missing the win over Cheltenham with a hip injury.
Predicted starting XI
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West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup: Johnstone; O'Shea, Ajayi, Bartley, Gibbs; Livermore, Sawyers; Snodgrass, Pereira, Grosicki; Robinson
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Manchester City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Rodri, Gundogan, Foden; Silva, Jesus, Sterling.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
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