A look ahead to tonight's game at The Hawthorns
West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City
Date: 8pm, Wednesday 4th December 2013
Venue: The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
Referee: Chris Foy. Assistants: P Kirkup, M Wilkes. Fourth Official: M Dean.
Odds: West Brom 5/1, Draw 10/3, Manchester City 4/7
Tickets: Still available.
TV: Match of the Day, BBC1 (highlights).
West Bromwich Albion
Manager: Steve Clarke
Squad (from): Daniels, Myhill, Dawson, Jones, Lugano, McAuley, Olsson, Popov, Reid, Ridgewell, Amalfitano, Brunt, Dorrans, Gera, Morrison, Sessegnon, Yacob, Anichebe, Berahino, Long, Rosenberg, Vydra.
Injured: Anelka, Sinclair, Foster, Thorne
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Mulumbu
Form guide: LDDWLD
Manchester City
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini
Squad (from):Hart, Pantilimon, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany, Lescott, Richards, Zabaleta, Garcia, Fernandinho, Milner, Nasri, Navas, Rodwell, Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Guidetti, Negredo.
Injured: Nastasic, Jovetic, Silva
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Form guide: WWLWLW
City will be once again be without David Silva, Stevan Jovetic and Matija Nastasic for the trip to The Hawthorns, but manager Manuel Pellegrini will be relieved to have captain Vincent Kompany available again after injury. The Belgian centre half has missed City's last ten games after suffering a calf injury against Everton. He is expected to be restored immediately to the starting line-up, although it remains to be seen if he is partnered by Joleon Lescott or Martin Demichelis at the heart of City's defence.
City's away form this season continues to be a source of frustration, with the Blues taking just four points from a possible eighteen on the road. This is in stark contrast to their imperious home form, where seven straight victories have helped the club climb to third in the table.
West Brom will be hoping to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at St James Park, in a run of form that has seen them win just one of their last six league games. However, they will be encouraged by their impressive performances against the so-called other "big" clubs, which saw them draw against Arsenal and Chelsea, and win at Old Trafford.
City's last away league game against West Brom saw the Blues win 2-1, with Edin Dzeko grabbing a late brace to help ten man City take the points. Our recent record against tonight's opponents is fairly good, with no defeats in the last seven league meetings strecthing back to 2008. Overall City have won 60 of the 143 games played against West Brom, with 29 draws and 54 defeats.
Prediction: West Brom 1 City 1