Barclays Premier
League
Venue: The Hawthorns
Sunday, November 7
2010
West Bromwich
v Manchester
City
11:00
Mio Channel 103
(Live)
West Brom defender Pablo Ibanez is available after the
club won an appeal against his red card at Blackpool.
Gonzalo Jara begins a three-match ban, but Peter Odemwingie and
James Morrison could return from knee injuries.
Manchester City could include captain Carlos Tevez, who is back
in training after a thigh problem.
Aleksandar Kolarov should feature after making his return from a
long-term ankle injury in Thursday's Europa League defeat.
West Brom
Suspended: Jara (three matches)
Doubtful: Morrison & Odemwingie (both
knee)
Injured: Olsson (Achilles)
Manchester City
Doubtful: Tevez (thigh)
Injured: Nimely (ankle), M Johnson (knee)
Two suave Italian managers, two vastly different levels of
expectation, just two points separating West Brom from Manchester
City.
Promoted Albion have been playing in Roberto Di Matteo's stylish
image during their ascent to the upper reaches of the Premier
League; they are unbeaten at home, won at Arsenal, and held
Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Baggies have already dumped Roberto Mancini's Manchester
City out of this season's Carling Cup, and a league victory on
Sunday would take them above their opponents.
City have been disquieted by three successive league and cup
defeats and the club has put on a united front all week in a bid to
gloss over recent signs of disharmony: several players have been
involved in off-field antics, while the on-pitch argument last
weekend between team-mates Vincent Kompany and Emmanuel Adebayor
followed a spat in the tunnel the previous week involving Yaya
Toure and James Milner.
Mancini's side have fewer points after 10 games than under Mark
Hughes last season (19), as well as under Sven-Goran Eriksson in
2007-08 (22). City's owners would have expected a better return on
their £120m summer outlay, 11 times the spending by West Brom.
Head-to-head
• West Brom have won their last three Premier League home
matches against Manchester City.
• Albion have won 49 of their previous 126 league meetings, with
City winning 51.
West Brom
• They have gone 11 months unbeaten at home in the league since
a 3-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest on 8 January (W12, D3).
• Albion have only won two of the 18 Premier League games they
have played in November.
• They have conceded in each of their last eight league matches
since the 1-0 home victory against Sunderland on 21 August.
• Chris Brunt will be making his 100th league start for West
Brom.
Manchester City
• City are in danger of suffering three consecutive league
defeats for the first time since November 2008.
• They have failed to win any of the three league matches in
which they have conceded the opening goal this season.
• Roberto Mancini's side have been caught offside 33 times this
season - the most in the Premier League.
• They host Manchester United in the league on Wednesday.
West Brom
Odemwingie: 3 goals (3 league); Cox: 3 goals (0 league)
Manchester City
Tevez: 7 goals (7 league); Adebayor: 5 goals (1 league)
Referee: Lee Probert
Assistant referees: Dean Mohareb & Ceri
Richards
Fourth official: Phil Dowd
