Manchester City vs West Brom Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
The games continue to come thick and fast for Manchester City as they entertain struggling West Brom at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Citizens were held to a drab goalless draw with neighbourhood rivals Manchester United at the weekend, but Pep Guardiola's side have shown glimpses of quality in recent weeks - highlighted by their progression to the Champions League last 16 as runaway group winners.
West Brom, on the other hand, currently find themselves in the bottom three, having picked up just one Premier League win so far this season - against basement boys Sheffield United. Things don't look to be getting any easier - on paper at least - with games against Liverpool, Leeds and Arsenal all coming up.
Here's 90min's preview of the game.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? Tuesday 15 December
What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (GMT)
Where Is It Played? Etihad Stadium
TV Channel? Amazon Prime Video (UK)
Referee? Peter Bankes
Team News
City are without Eric Garcia because of a muscle injury, while Sergio Aguero may be sidelined once more after missing the Manchester derby through illness.
Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres may be the benefactors of squad rotation, at the expense of Fernandinho and Riyad Mahrez, but it's unlikely that Aymeric Laporte will be able to oust either Ruben Dias or John Stones in the heart of central defence.
Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva may also be in contention as the festive fixture pile-up begins.
West Brom are without Sam Field, who has suffered from both injury and COVID-19, Conor Townsend and Hal Robson-Kanu, while Matheus Pereira is suspended.
Kieran Gibbs and Charlie Austin both came on at half-time during the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle, and both will be hopeful of Slaven Bilic giving them a chance to impress from the start.
Predicted Lineups
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Torres, Sterling, Jesus.
West Brom: Johnstone; Ajayi, Ivanovic, O'Shea; Furlong, Gallagher, Sawyers, Phillips; Krovinovic; Grant, Robinson.
Recent Form
City's relatively slow start to the Premier League season may mean they're down in ninth place, but it's not panic stations yet for Guardiola and his side.
A six point gap to leaders Tottenham can be closed with victory in City's game in hand, while there are promising signs in defence thanks to consecutive Premier League clean sheets against Burnley, Fulham and United.
Of course there’s some room for improvements but it was a good game. ?? well done, let’s keep pushing ?? pic.twitter.com/4guhEPODN9
— Fernandinho (@fernandinho) December 12, 2020
West Brom go into Tuesday's game off the back of two straight Premier League defeats, and they've tasted victory just once in 12 outings so far.
A trip to the Etihad seems a daunting prospect as a result, but Bilic's side have shown they can be resolute and difficult to break down despite their Premier League record.
Here's how both sides have got on in their last five games.
Manchester City
Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City (12/12)
Manchester City 3-0 Marseille (09/12)
Manchester City 2-0 Fulham (05/12)
Porto 0-0 Manchester City (01/12)
Manchester City 5-0 Burnley (28/11)
West Brom
Newcastle United 2-1 West Brom (12/12)
West Brom 1-5 Crystal Palace (06/12)
West Brom 1-0 Sheffield United (28/11)
Manchester United 1-0 West Brom (21/11)
West Brom 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (08/11)
Prediction
Things are starting to click for Manchester City now and the Dias-Stones partnership has provided some much needed solidity at the back.
With West Brom struggling for goals, it's difficult to see how the Baggies will be able to get at City's defence. The hosts will likely dominate possession, and despite introducing fresh legs as a part of rotation, they should run out comfortable winners.
Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 West Brom