West Brom v Manchester City Prediction

Baggies Home form a worry for City visit

West Brom v Manchester City Prediction:

Monday 26th December 2011, Barclays Premier League: 15:00

Author: Thomas Rooney 22/12/2011

Premier League leaders Manchester City travel to West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day hoping to maintain their lead at the top of the table.

It will be far from easy though against a West Brom side that are in decent form right now. December has been a very productive month for the Baggies so far, having won their last two games at Blackburn and Newcastle respectively.

These valuable wins mean they have climbed to 10th in the table, a relatively comfortable seven points clear of the bottom three. Progress is clear to see under Roy Hodgson and they will want this to continue for the rest of the campaign.

They could do with turning on the style a bit more on home soil though. We have mentioned that they have won their last two games on the road, but their last game at the Hawthorns ended in a 2-1 defeat to Wigan.

The Baggies have actually only won two of their eight home games and nobody in the Premier League has scored fewer goals on home soil. So, they would love to give their fans something to cheer about on Boxing Day.

It doesn’t get much more difficult than facing Manchester City at the moment though and Roberto Mancini will take his side to the Hawthorns on Boxing Day looking for a professional performance and three points.

They certainly had this in their last game – a 3-0 win at home to Stoke City – and this was arguably an easy a win as they will get all season. Stoke had their injuries, but it was a walk in the park for Manchester City as they continued their excellent form on home soil.

In nine Premier League home games so far, they have won nine games and scored 28 goals. It’s not as if they have been shipping in goals at the other end either having only conceded on four occasions at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League this season.

Manchester United are hot on their heels though, so every game comes with pressure. They know that if they drop points in this one, there is every chance that they will surrender first place as the result.

If they are to become Premier League Champions though they need to perform with the pressure on their shoulders and come away from games like this one with the points.

This is something they should do on Boxing Day, even if it is only a single goal that separates them from a confident West Brom side.

Match bet: Manchester City on the Asian Handicap -1,-1.5 @ 2.00 with Bet365 - (Ł200 free bets)

Correct score prediction: West Brom 1:2 Manchester City @ 9 with Betfair