The postponed match-up of English Premier League Round 34 between Manchester City FC and West Bromwich Albion will take place on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium. Clash was postponed due to other competitions schedule (FA Cup and Champions League). When it comes to the importance of the game, Manchester Blues need a win to secure the number 4 spot that leads to CL play next season while guests from London don’t have any special motive besides prestige. In-depth analysis is ready so let’s take a closer look.
MANCHESTER CITY FC vs. WEST BROMWICH ALBION
3-Way: 1: Manchester City FC -556; X: +836 Draw; West Bromwich Albion +2400
Spread -2.5: Manchester City FC +119; West Bromwich Albion -122
Total +3.5: Over +100; Under -106
MANCHESTER CITY FC
Pep Guardiola’s first season at the Manchester City helm is coming to an end and I’m not sure that the fans and the board are completely satisfied with the number of achievements. Team couldn’t keep pace with Chelsea and Tottenham in the English Premier League title race, they were eliminated from the Champions League by the French side AS Monaco in the quarterfinals and they lost the FA Cup semifinal game against Arsenal, meaning that there will be no trophies for the Blue side of Manchester this year.
On the other side, they were better than their biggest rivals, Manchester United, beating them for that No. 4 spot in the English Premier league table. They also defeated United at Old Trafford on September 10th (2:1) while the match-up at Etihad finished goalless. Having everything in mind, I think that Giuardiola’s chair is safe for at least another year.
Team currently ranks fourth with 72 points in 36 games, one less than Liverpool at No. 3 spot, but they also have one match less played and finishing at the No.3 spot that avoids the qualifications in the CL is a big possibility. The Blues are 4-3-1 in the last eight match-ups and they are 3-1-0 in the last four games in front of their own crowd (City is undefeated in their last 11 home matches).
Overall record at home is 10-7-1 with 34-16 goal difference (72-38 overall) and they rank sixth in the home league table with 37 of 54 possible points earned. They score 1.89 and concede 0.89 goals on home soil (2.00-1.06 overall) and they are one of few teams in England this season that scored more goals on the road then at home. 69% of City’s total matches had over 2.5 goals while 39% of their total games had over 3.5 goals in total. Only 8% of match-ups had over 4.5 goals while only 6% of the home matches had over 2.5 goals at the halftime.
In 42% of the battles the Blues managed to score at least one goal in both halves (second best in the league) while they haven’t conceded in both halves at home this season. In 72% of the home matches both teams scored (highest percentage in the league) and the most common result at home was a 2:1 win (occurred five times) while most common score at the halftime was a 1:0 lead (occurred seven times).
Argentinean striker Sergio Aguero tops the team in scoring with 18 goals while Raheem Sterling has seven in his account. Kevin De Bruyne has 15 assists (first in the league) while passing segment belongs to Fernandinho and David Silva with 1796 and 1710 total passes. Goalkeepers Claudio Bravo (22 appearances) and Willy Caballero (15 appearances) collected 61 total saves and they have 10 games with clean sheets combined.
Ilkay Gundogan (ACL Knee), Fabian Delph (Muscle) and Claudio Bravo (Calf) are out for the season while John Stones (Groin) should be in circulation for Tuesday game.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
The West Bromwich Albion team is on a winless streak in the English Premier League that lasts since March 18th continues and they have only one win in the last nine games. Currently, they rank eighth in the league table with 45 points in 35 games and if they weren’t underperforming in the second part of the season they would certainly be in the battle for the Europa League spot.
This was not the case and now they find themselves in the unattainable 13 points deficit behind Everton FC that ranks seventh. They are coming off from a home defeat against the newly promoted English Premier League Champions, Chelsea FC on Friday.
The team is 1-2-5 in the last eight games and they are 0-2-2 in the last four home games. Overall record on the road is 3-7-7 with 14-24 goal difference (41-46 overall) and they rank 11th in the away league table with 16 of 51 possible points earned. West Bromwich scores 0.82 and concedes 1.41 goals at when visiting this season and they’ve conceded at least one goal in 94% of their road matches (they haven’t conceded in only two visiting matches this season).
They also haven’t score a goal in last four games at home (since 3:1 win over Arsenal FC in Round 29). 41% of their road matches had over 2.5 goals while 18% of their away games had over 3.5 goals in total. 100% of the visiting games had under 4.5 goals and no game had over 2.5 goals at the halftime. Most common results on the road is a 1:1 draw (occurred four times) and 1:0 loss (occurred three times) while most common score at the halftime was 0:0 (occurred eight times). Both teams scored in 53% of West Brom’s road games.
Jose Rondon leads the team in scoring with eight goals while Gareth McAuley has six in his account so far. Matt Phillips tops the team in assists with eight (eighth in the league) while Nacer Chadli has five. Passing segment belongs to Jake Livermore and Darren Fletcher with 1277 and 866 total passes. Goalie Ben Foster played every minute for the Albion this season (36 appearances) and he has collected 102 saves along with six clean sheet games.
Hal Robson-Kanu (Hamstring) and Gareth McAuley (Thigh) will both have late fitness tests while Matt Phillips (Hamstring) is listed as a major doubt.
Manchester City FC vs. West Bromwich Albion- Match Prediction
Manchester City FC has a much higher motive to win this one in order to secure the possible No. 3 spot in the English Premier league table that would avoid the qualifications for the Champions League next season.
On the other side West Bromwich is in a terrible form lately and hosts win should be an easy bet and easy job.
With the home team expected to win all three points, I would rather go with the Blues keeping a clean sheet on Tuesday night, considering that the visitors have score only 14 goals on the road this season.
My pick: Under 3.5 goals (-106)
Additional Pick: Both teams score NO (-133)
