Manchester City are two points off of league leaders Manchester United and could move to the top of the table for at least 24 hours with a win in midweek.
On Tuesday night, Pep Guardiola’s team head to the Black Country to play West Brom. The Baggies took points off of Manchester City earlier this season at the Etihad Stadium with a 1-1 draw. After Ilkay Gundogan’s first half goal, West Brom struck back thanks to a Ruben Dias own goal.
Manchester City are fresh off of a come from behind FA Cup fourth round win over Cheltenham. After conceding in the 59th minute, Manchester City scored three goals in the final nine minutes plus stoppage time to get a 3-1 win.
The Cityzens are atop the Premier League form table going into matchday 20. They were a perfect 18 points from 18 on offer. Manchester City conceded a mere one goal during that six-match time span while scoring 13 times. They averaged 2.2 goals per match over the course of their last six games.
West Brom took just four points from their last 18 on offer. They were outscored 17-5 during that time period. Their one win came against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Black Country Derby as they came from behind to win 3-2.
Guardiola is without two of his most important attacking players. Kevin De Bruyne could be out six to eight weeks due to a hamstring injury. He is expected to miss several big matches for the Cityzens. Sergio Aguero is still ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Defender Nathan Ake is ruled out as well. The defender is not ready to return as his recent injury is still lingering. Right-back Kyle Walker could return to the team for the match. Waker is nursing a groin strain.
West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has four players on the injury list at the Hawthorns. Conor Townsend is a doubt with a knee injury. Matt Phillips is likely to miss the game as well after suffering from a bout of coronavirus. Karlan Ahearne-Grant and Grady Diangana are both ruled out with their repective injuries.
Sam Allardyce has confirmed @karlangrant and Matty Phillips are back in contention to face Manchester City on Tuesday night 💪— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) January 25, 2021
Sam Allardyce has confirmed @karlangrant and Matty Phillips are back in contention to face Manchester City on Tuesday night 💪
Manchester City struggled against West Brom in their previous meeting in December. The Cityzens also struggled before getting a win in the FA Cup fourth round versus Cheltenham. Manchester City shouldn’t have an issue winning this week and moving to the top of the table – for at least 24 hours.
The Cityzens are in great form and should continue their winning streak. They are in Premier League title winning form in spite of a lack of goal scoring this season. Expect the Cityzens to win and over 2.5 goals scored against the Baggies.