West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City; Premier League
West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City. Premier League.
The Hawthorns.
West Bromwich Albion 0
Manchester City 5
- I Gündogan (6th minute, 30th minute)
- J Cancelo (20th minute)
- R Mahrez (47th minute)
- R Sterling (57th minute)
West Brom vs Man City preview, team news, prediction, stats, kick-off time
Karlan Grant returns for hosts; Kyle Walker could return for Man City; follow West Brom vs Man City with our live blog on Sky Sports website and app; watch free match highlights shortly after full time on Sky Sports' digital platforms and YouTube channel
Tuesday 26 January 2021 16:33, UK
Team news and stats ahead of West Brom vs Man City in the Premier League on Tuesday; kick-off 8.15pm.
Team news
West Brom are boosted by the return of both Karlan Grant and Matty Phillips as they prepare to host Manchester City.
Striker Grant is yet to feature in 2021 after suffering a foot injury in late December. Phillips has missed the last three games after testing positive for Covid-19, with the winger's his last appearance coming in the home defeat to Arsenal on January 2.
Robert Snodgrass is back in contention after sitting out the trip to West Ham. The two clubs had an agreement that the midfielder would not play in the game following his recent transfer from the Hammers.
Conor Townsend (knee) is back in training but not yet ready to return, while Grady Diangana (hamstring) is still out.
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Manchester City are without Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) and Sergio Aguero (coronavirus).
Right-back Kyle Walker is hoping to return after missing the FA Cup tie at Cheltenham after a blow to the hip. Centre-back Nathan Ake remains on the sidelines.
How to follow
Follow West Brom vs Man City in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
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Jones Knows' prediction
An open title race you say? Have you not seen Manchester City play recently? Liverpool's stumbles have seen even more confidence pile into Pep Guardiola's men in the betting markets.
They are now as short as 4/11 to win their third title in the last four seasons. It's theirs to lose.
Since losing to Spurs in November, City have conceded just two goals in 10 games, winning seven of those to nil. West Brom were actually one of the two teams to break through the City barricades in Slaven Bilic's final game in charge and although Sam Allardyce has given the Baggies at least a glimmer of survival hope, this fixture has a predictable look to it.
"We could play out of our skins, but still lose, so the games against Fulham and Sheffield United will be huge for us," Allardyce said in his pre-match press conference. Not exactly inspiring is it?
One of the biggest mysteries of this bonkers season is how City's slick full-back Joao Cancelo has just one assist to his name in the Premier League. He has created 27 chances for his team-mates - the same as James Rodriguez at Everton. That smart build-up play has generated an expected assist figure of 3.45, highlighting the high-quality supply he is producing. To put that into some context, Harry Kane has an expected assist figure of just 1.89 assists this season but has a ludicrously efficient 11 assists to his name.
Cancelo's influence off the bench in the FA Cup comeback at Cheltenham showcased just what an important player he is for Pep Guardiola right now, setting up Phil Foden for the all-important equaliser.
Unfortunately for punting purposes, the traders at Sky Bet are seemingly well versed with Cancelo's chance creation powers, pricing him up at just 2/1 to grab an assist. There are bigger prices available in the betting jungle.
He can play a big part in another win without conceding for Manchester City.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-2 (6/1 with Sky Bet)
Pitch to Post Review - All 20 clubs analysed in half-term report
In a bumper Review show, the panel recover from spitting out their coffee on Monday morning to react to the news that Frank Lampard has lost his job as Chelsea manager. Where did it go wrong for Lampard? Did he lack experience? And what would replacement Thomas Tuchel bring?
Jasper Taylor is joined by Roger Clarke, Gerard Brand and Mark McAdam for the latest Pitch to Post review, as we analyse all 20 Premier League clubs in the half-term review.
In possibly the most bizarre Premier League season in history, which has seen eight different leaders, we cover every team from the rise of Ole's United to the fall of Wilder's.
To hear more, download the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Review podcast on your provider
Opta stats
- West Bromwich Albion are winless in their last 18 Premier League matches against Manchester City (D2 L16) since a 2-1 win in December 2008 under Tony Mowbray.
- Manchester City have won their last six away Premier League games against West Brom, their longest ever away top-flight winning streak against an opponent.
- West Brom have only had a longer top-flight winless run versus Liverpool (19 games between 1981 and 2010) than their current 18-game winless streak against Man City.
- In their 18 winless games since last beating Man City in December 2008, West Brom have led for a combined total of just 26 minutes and 3 seconds, taking the lead in October 2012 (ahead 12m 56s) and April 2016 (13m 7s) before going on to lose both games.
- Since losing 2-5 against Leicester in their second game of the season, Manchester City have conceded just seven goals in 16 Premier League games, keeping 10 clean sheets in the process.
- West Brom have conceded 24 goals in nine Premier League home games this season, more than any other side in the division. However, Man City have scored fewer away goals than any other side currently in the top half (10).
- Victory for Manchester City will see them finish top of the Premier League table for the first time this season. They will be the ninth different side to end a day top this term, the most within a single top-flight campaign since 1986-87 (also 9).
- West Bromwich Albion have lost their last four home Premier League games, last losing five in a row back in December 2004. All four of those defeats have been by a margin of three or more goals, making them the first side in top-flight history to lose four in a row at home by a margin of 3+ goals.
- West Brom's Sam Allardyce has only lost four consecutive home Premier League games once previously, doing so in December 2004 with Bolton Wanderers. Allardyce could become the first manager since Chris Ramsey at QPR in March 2015 to lose his first four home Premier League games in charge of a club.
- In his league managerial career with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City, the only time Pep Guardiola has failed to beat a newly promoted team either home or away in a season was against Middlesbrough in 2016-17, drawing both games.
