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West Brom v Man City (1500)

Written by Dailynews.vn Sunday, 25 December 2011 15:48

By John Motson
BBC Match of the Day commentator

Barclays Premier League

Venue: The Hawthorns Date: Monday, 26 December Kick-off: 1500 GMT Coverage: Watch highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; full live text commentary & report on BBC Sport website and mobiles Odemwingie and Long helped West Brom to a thrilling 3-2 win at Newcastle

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Monday, 26 December 2011

Premier League

Home Team Score Away Team Time West Brom v Man City 15:00 WEST BROM MAN CITY

Possession

West Brom 50% Man City 50%

Attempts on target

West Brom 0 Man City 0

Attempts off target

West Brom 0 Man City 0

Corners

West Brom 0 Man City 0

Fouls

West Brom 0 Man City 0

TEAM NEWS

West Brom are hopeful midfielder James Morrison will have recovered from the hamstring injury which forced him to miss the 3-2 win at Newcastle.

Youssouf Mulumbu (groin) and Jerome Thomas (ankle) are major doubts, while Steven Reid has been ruled out for a month following a knee operation.

Edin Dzeko is City's main injury concern with an ankle strain.

Micah Richards should shake off a calf injury he suffered during a clash with Stoke midfielder Dean Whitehead.

MATCH PREVIEW

Prior to West Brom's thrilling 3-2 win at Newcastle, Manchester City would have been white-hot favourites to win this - not only because of their own outstanding form, but also because the Baggies have only won two games at home all season. It's not the kind of statistic to fill them with a great deal of faith against the runaway league leaders.

Though City obviously remain the likely victors, Roy Hodgson's side will have confidence coursing through them after that magnificent performance at the Sports Direct Arena. Both the result, and the way in which they won, wasn't really on the cards. It's always a big incentive to be playing against the team who are sat at the top of the pile and the return to form of Peter Odemwingie, allied to the pace of Shane Long up front, gives them cause for optimism.

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City are so solid at the Etihad Stadium that if anybody is going to catch them unawares it is likely to be on the road

If West Brom take the game to City, they can give them a tough afternoon.

Despite their first loss of the season at Chelsea, the confidence of Roberto Mancini's side has not exactly been punctured after fine wins at home against Arsenal and Stoke. Going into Christmas top of the table for the first time since 1929 is a landmark in itself, and you can tell Mancini believes they should maintain that form and go all the way. They are so solid at the Etihad Stadium that if anybody is going to catch them unawares it is likely to be on the road.

Chris Brunt's throughball for West Brom's first at Newcastle was fantastic, and he's a gifted player. But against City he's going to be up against Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry and David Silva. It's a different proposition altogether and the Blues are so strong all over the pitch.

An Albion win would be a big surprise, but you can't rule out an unlikely victory. They will relish starting the game as underdogs and the Newcastle win will have them in fine heart. City aren't totally invincible. Stoke rather rolled over, but I think West Brom have the motivation. It will be in their interest to go on the front foot.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

Manchester City have won the past three Premier League encounters. The highest-scoring match between them came on 21 September 1957, when West Brom beat City 9-2 at The Hawthorns.

West Brom

West Brom have won two of their past seven Premier League matches. They have lost all five previous Premier League matches on Boxing Day, failing to score in each of the last four. Albion have only achieved back-to-back league wins once this season. Peter Odemwingie scored his third Premier League goal of the season against Blackburn last weekend. West Brom have won all three matches in which he has scored.

Manchester City

City are the first team for 49 years to score 50 goals in their first 16 top-flight matches (and the ninth club to achieve this in the history of English football). They have only once failed to score in their 26 matches (in all competitions) this season. Roberto Mancini's side are looking to keep three consecutive clean sheets for the first time this season. With five goals so far, David Silva has already beaten last season's tally of four.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport2/hi/football/16240606.stm