Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Manchester City came back from their Champions League exploits on Wednesday with the aim of making sure they are in the competition next season. With the race for 4th place hotting up, they can’t afford to drop any points as Manchester United and West Ham will both look to capatilise.
A win for West Ham this Lunchtime at home to Arsenal would see the two sides for a few hours at least and if that is the case then City will be looking to restore that 3 point advantage and put the pressure on Manchester United who play 24 hours later.
City looked sharp on Wednesday and have only themselves to blame for not coming away with a win, that said 2 away goals does put them in the driving seat for Tuesday’s 2nd leg at The Etihad as they look to reach a first ever Champions League Semi Final.
One of the reasons for that increased sharpness and energy is the return of Kevin De Bruyne, his goal put City in front and he was also on the scoresheet last Weekend as they cruised to victory on the South Coast with a 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth.
Much has been made of City’s issues at Centre Back but they have missed De Bruyne just as much, even in these last two games they have looked a much more dangerous outfit and that won’t be good news for their opponents this Evening West Brom.
West Brom in 11th are safe from any worries of relegation, the only thing really left to play for is a new contract for Tony Pulis. He has reportedly been in talks with Jeremy Peace in regards to staying on and as it stands it all points to that being the case but he’ll do his chances no harm whatsoever if they can pull off an upset win.
Last time out they managed to frustrate a Sunderland side desperately looking for a win, that game ended in a stalemate and Pulis is going to have to make sure his Defence is just as solid if not more if they are going to have any joy at The Etihad. Because if it isn’t they could be in for a long night.
With West Brom at the mythical 40 point marker then it would be easy to say they have switched off the season, it certainly looked the case in their defeat to Norwich before the break but that said they looked more engaged last Saturday at The Stadium Of Light.
That said I can’t see anything other than a City win in front of their own fans as they look to consolidate that 4th place and make sure that Pep Guardiola doesn’t have to work Thursday’s next season. A comfortable home win.
