An entertaining encounter lies in wait for Hawthorns bound fans this weekend as two fine sides go head to head…
Vital Quotes:
Roberto Mancini:
‘I should say many compliments to Steve Clarke because he has done a very good job until now. In this moment, I think West Bromwich is the team that has played the best football, so tomorrow for us it will be tough. It is very important when there are two teams that play very good football, I think it is important for the supporters, for everyone.’
Steve Clarke :
‘At this moment in time I’d say Manchester City are still the favourites to win the league…They haven’t shown that they’ve gone backwards from last year. They’ve shown that they’re at the same level and it’s up to everyone else to catch up with them. I read in the week that David Silva is injured but they’ve got Samir Nasri to come in. They’ve got like-for-like replacements all over the pitch…We have worked ever so hard and done really well to build ourselves a good platform. Now we have to try to build on that platform.’
West Bromwich Albion Team News:
OUT:
Youssouf Mulumbu
Jerome Thomas
Chris Brunt
Billy Jones
Steven Reid
Boaz Myhill
Player to watch: Shane Long
Scoring steadily and a clear and present danger amongst a Baggies forward line that has been firing on all cylinders at the start of this campaign. Will command plenty of attention from City’s big men.
Manchester City Team News:
OUT:
Jack Rodwell
Javi Garcia
David Silva
Maicon
Player to watch: Yaya Touré
Whole lot of stirring going on. From the MUEN to Das Daily Mail, anti-City brigade hacks have gone into overdrive this week drooling over the oft repeated comments of Yaya`s agent that the giant City powerhouse wants to leave the Champions at 29 years old. Mancio has given the rumours short shrift. Let`s see how the big man responds himself.
Match Facts & Stats
THE FACTS:
Only The Citizens and Chelsea are unbeaten in the Premier League this season. WBA join Chelsea in the positive stats with a 100% home record.
Across the last 5 visits to The Hawthorns, City have won only once. However, West Brom have not scored in their last 4 matches against The Champions. City are unbeaten against The Baggies in 5 games. Furthermore, the midlanders have not found the net against The Blues in the last 4.
Head To Head
League: 54 City Wins, 27 Draws, 49 WBA Wins
League Cup: 2 City Wins, 2 WBA Wins
FA Cup: 1 City Win, 1 Draw, 2 WBA Wins
Total: 58 City Wins, 29 Draws, 54 WBA Wins
This Could Be The Last Time:
We 11Apr 2012 Man City 4 – 0 West Brom PL
Mo 26Dec 2011 West Brom 0 – 0 Man City PL
Sa 05Feb 2011 Man City 3 – 0 West Brom PL
Su 07Nov 2010 West Brom 0 – 2 Man City PL
We 22Sep 2010 West Brom 2 – 1 Man City LC
Betting: City 7/10 Draw 11/4 WBA 4 Racing Post Soccerbase
TV Coverage: BBC Match Of The Day – probably for 2 minutes unless we get beat.
LiveOnSat.com
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE GAME LIVE IN THE VMC FORUM
Ref Watch:
Mark Clattenburg of Tyne and Wear
2011-2012 Record Across All Competitions: 36 Games, 115 Yellows, 8 Reds –
Last Season:
Su 18Sep 2011 Fulham 2 – 2 Man City PL
Su 23Oct 2011 Man Utd 1 – 6 Man City PL
Mo 12Dec 2011 Chelsea 2 – 1 Man City PL
Sa 03Mar 2012 Man City 2 – 0 Bolton PL –
2012-2013 Record So Far Across All Competitions: 6 Games, 24 Yellows, 1 Red –
This Season:
Sa 15Sep 2012 Stoke 1 – 1 Man City PL
Match Prediction:
Johnny On The Spot:
Could have and should have won at West Brom last Boxing Day. The Hawthorns can best be filed under ” a difficult place to go where Champions get results.” Hardly ever a happy hunting ground for The Blues, but the terrific resurgence the side demonstrated against Sunderland bodes well for what amounts to an extremely important clash with the Premier League so tight at the top ahead of another hectic run of City fixtures. I fancy us to do the job with a solid performance ahead of the intriguing trip to Ajax on Wednesday. WBA 0 City 2
Next Fixtures:
We 24 Oct 19h45 Ajax, Amsterdam Arena, CL
Sa 27 Oct 17h30 Swansea City, The Etihad, PL
Sa 03Nov 17h30 West Ham, Upton Park, PL
Tu 06 Nov 19h45 Ajax, The Etihad, CL
Su 11 Nov 13h30 Spurs, The Etihad, PL
Sa 17 Nov 15h00 Aston Villa, The Etihad, PL
We 21 Nov 19h45 Real Madrid, The Etihad, CL
Su 25 Nov 16h00 Chelsea, Stamford Bridge, PL
We 28 Nov 20h00 Wigan, DW Stadium, PL