West Bromwich Albion have failed to live up to the expectations so far in this season. Tony Pulis has built this current side on his own but results haven’t been in his favour so far. They are currently on a seven-match winless run in the Premier League and their task is only going to get tougher as they host a Manchester City team in devastating form.
No team has been able to stop Man City’s juggernaut this season and they will be hard to crack down as Pep Guardiola’s men have been extremely ruthless under the tutelage of the Spanish gaffer. Guardiola likes to attack and prefers to play a possession based game so Pulis needs to organise his defence which had been the bedrock of their success last season.
So it would be a tactical battle between the two managers and it remains to be seen who emerges as the winner. Southampton edged out the Baggies 1-0 in the last match and a win for Pulis’ side would hand them an uplift following their poor start to the season.
Predicted 4-1-4-1 West Brom Starting Lineup Vs Manchester City
Defence
Ben Foster has been very erratic and City won’t leave a single chance to punish him. The former Manchester United keeper is expected to be quite busy during this outing.
Pulis is likely to tweak his strategy a bit as he will not have the service of his trusted duo Craig Dawson and Johny Evans. Ahmed Hegazy will lead the Baggies defence alongside Gareth McAuley.
Allan Nyom will be guaranteed a start following the injury to Dawson.
Kieran Gibbs will try to use his experience to shut down the Sky Blues attack.
Midfield
Jake Livermore will be at the holding midfield role and will be the main barrier to foil the Man City attack. Guardiola’s side has been pretty fluent in their display so he needs to thwart the chances that come towards him.
Gareth Barry has recovered from his injury and the veteran cannot afford a mistake at this crucial juncture.
Grzegorz Krychowiak will be aiming to shake up the City midfield with his darting runs through the middle.
Attack
Pulis emphasises more on his defensive setup but he has an envious lineup of attackers and Nacer ChadIi is one of them. The Belgian winger will have a go at the Man City defence.
Jay Rodriguez will be stationed on the right flank.
Salomon Rondon will spearhead the attack.
