WBA v MAN CITY – The Preview
6 Nov
To the relief of Roberto Mancini, the games are coming thick and fast at the moment, with this visit to the Hawthorns to face a West Brom side that has taken the Premier League by storm, arriving hot on the heels of the Lech Poznan match. After that fixture, in which the Blues recorded their third successive defeat, the Italian will be pleased to return to on-field matters, after all the vitriol that has been spurted in his direction this week.
Much has been written about Mancini’s supposedly perilous position after the trio of losses, and the media have seized upon this fixture as a must-win game. But WBA aren’t to be under-estimated. They are currently surpassing all expectations under the leadership of the charismatic Roberto di Matteo. The former Chelsea midfielder has reinvented the Baggies as an attractive side to watch, a team that moves the ball around with confidence.
That in itself might favour City, who have the quality of players to take advantage of any space left open. Mancini will be boosted by the availability of the influential duo of Nigel de Jong and Carlos Tévez, whilst Aleksandar Kolarov and Mario Balotelli are both pushing for starts, leaving my good friend with a virtually full-strength squad to choose from for the first side this season.
Tévez’s importance to City is highlighted by the fact that without the Argentine, the Blues have failed to win a single match in two years. After his brief visit home to see his family, our captain has returned and City fans must hope that his mind is fully focused on football matters. Here is the team which I’d expect Mancini to select.
Hart
Boateng K. Touré Kompany Kolarov
Y. Touré de Jong Barry
Milner Silva
Adebayor
Subs: Given, Zabaleta, Lescott, Vieira, A. Johnson, Tévez, Balotelli
Key Battle
Chris Brunt v David Silva
Although these two midfield magicians won’t come into direct contact with each other, they are the creative hubs of their respective teams. The Northern Irishman has a cultured left foot and generally tends to do well against City, whilst Silva has been a revelation so far for the Blues and must continue his good form on Sunday.
Referee: Lee Probert
Prediction: WBA 1 – 2 MAN CITY – A tough one to predict and my heart is ruling over my head. Goals to be scored by Emmanuel Adebayor, David Silva and Marc Antoine Fortuné.
you make a big point of tevez being the returning captain and your inability to win without him, yet you expect him to start with adebayor up front??
should be a very good game, particularly with the derby on wednesday
He’s back in the squad, but isn’t fully fit, so why risk him?
Yeah, surely Tevez will start?
Nice preview, like the word vitriol. I really hope we win this game – a couple of weeks ago I might have been saying I can’t wait to win this game, but there we go… Let’s hope this poor run stops tomorrow.
Barry has not been at par for past few games, I would prefer to see Milner beside De Long and Adam Johnson on the right flank.
One word missing….iota…….I cannt fully comment until this is explained!
As you should know, iota appears in the reviews!