Manchester City are fortunate to be still at the top of the Premier League table. This is thanks to two needless draws played out by Tottenham and Arsenal against bottom-rungers Bournemouth and Middlesborough on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s men are low on confidence going into Saturday’s clash with West Brom at the Hawthorns stadium. A 0-4 licking at Nou Camp Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League face-off, followed by a unimpressive 1-1 draw against Southampton last weekend finds the Citizens at the lowest point as far as their morale is concerned. Despite good play by Sterling, Gundogan and De Bruyne upfront, City have failed to capitalize when it came to scoring goals. Sergio Aguero needs to find his goal-scoring touch. The impressive striker, 20-year old Kelechi Iheanacho needs to be allowed more playing time on the field and gel with Aguero. Iheanacho has already 3 goals from his 7 Premier League outings and it was his strike against Southampton that saved the Citizens from being dislodged from top of the table. Barring John Stones, Kompany, Kolarov and Sane have been well below their best at the back, although it was Stones’ error that allowed Southampton to score their lone goal.
West Brom can be tough customers at home, having lost 1-2 in their first encounter against Everton, but managed some impressive shows after that a 4-2 win against West Ham and a stubborn 1-1 draw against the Spurs. Full back’s Gareth McAuley’s lone goal in their 1-2 loss against Liverpool underlined West Brom’s ability to hit back on counters and City defenders will be wary of the very opportunistic Nacer Chadli and Salomon Rondon going into Saturday’s clash.
However, history is heavily in favor of Manchester City. Of the last ten clashes between these two, the Citizens have won all but one and that was a goalless draw way back in December 2011.Despite Man City’s poor show of late, odds are strongly in their favor come Saturday’s clash at the Hawthorns.
Recommended Tip: Man City to win & Both Teams to Score, Odds 12/5 @ William Hill