Man City 2 vs 0 West Brom
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51′Yellow Card Nacer Chadli
Yellow card Nacer Chadli -
50′Pablo Zabaleta has just been sent to warm up and he’s greeted with a standing ovation as he jogs down the touchline.
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49′De Bruyne looks to have picked up where he left off at the end of the first half as he fizzes a wonderful low cross into the middle which Foster can only palm into a dangerous area, but fortunately for the West Brom goalkeeper there are no City players anywhere near it.
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47′City are awarded a free-kick 35 yards out from goal for a pull on Aguero, but Toure chooses to roll it backwards towards his defence rather than send the defenders forwards and get a high ball into the middle.
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46′Kick-off! Livermore gets the second half underway for West Brom.
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West Brom have sat back and invited the pressure onto them for the majority of the half, but they’ve struggled to keep the ball when they have won it back and Tony Pulis may not waste too much time in making a change in the second half, in an attempt to get more of a foothold in the game. Pep Guardiola meanwhile will be asking for more of the same from his side.
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City have completely dominated almost every aspect of that first half and deservedly go into the break ahead thanks to goals from Jesus and the influential De Bruyne, while Sane and Aguero have also had good opportunities.
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Half-time: Manchester City 2-0 West Brom
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45’+1′We’re into the first of two minutes of added time now as Rondon cuts inside onto his right foot and shoots towards goal from 25 yards out, but the effort is straight at Caballero who holds on with ease. That’s about the best chance of the half for West Brom though.
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44′Jesus showing a glimpse of his confidence levels now as he attempts an acrobatic overhead kick from 12 yards out after a good header towards him from Sane, but he can’t keep the effort down and Foster watches it sail over his bar.
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42′West Brom are finding it extremely difficult to retain possession for any length of time at the minute and Rondon is looking very isolated as the lone striker.
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40′De Bruyne is causing West Brom all sorts of problems at the minute, this time playing Jesus in behind the West Brom defence and while he can’t sort his feet out quickly enough to get a shot away himself, he does fire a cross into Sane on the far corner of the box, only for the winger to drill his fierce effort over the bar.
39′
CHANCE!! A chance for Aguero to get himself on the scoresheet as the ball falls to him 20 yards out after Dawson had only half-cleared Silva’s attempted pass over the top towards De Bruyne, but the Argentine’s well-struck shot is straight at Foster.
37′
City are awarded a free-kick 30 yards out from goal in a central area following a foul on Jesus by Dawson, but the position is wasted as De Bruyne stands up a cross which is far too deep. Tony Pulis will be pretty relieved that nothing came of that free-kick as he certainly didn’t agree with the decision to award it.
35′
West Brom are trying to push further up the pitch but they look far more vulnerable at the back when they lose the ball as a result, and Yaya Toure picks out Silva just inside the edge of the penalty area, but Livermore tracks back well to make an important tackle before Foster is called into action moments later to palm away De Bruyne’s long-range drive.
33′
The City fans have certainly found their voice now and their side look in complete control of this game.
31′
There’s some concern for Kompany now and John Stones has been sent to warm up. It would be a huge blow to Pep Guardiola is his captain had to be replaced.
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29′Goal Kevin De Bruyne
Goal Kevin De Bruyne -
29′Assist Gabriel Fernando de Jesus
Assist Gabriel Fernando de Jesus
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27′Goal Gabriel Fernando de Jesus
GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!! Jesus puts City ahead!! De Bruyne gets in behind the West Brom defence down the left-hand edge of the penalty box from a deft flick from Aguero, and the Belgian’s cross deflects off Evans and into the path of Jesus who taps the ball into an empty net from a couple of yards out. -
27′Assist Kevin De Bruyne
Assist Kevin De Bruyne
25′
West Brom have their first real chance to get the ball into the box now as Craig Pawson awards them a free-kick on the left-hand side following an elbow on Chris Brunt by Fernandinho, but Nacer Chadli’s ball in is a poor one and goes straight into the arms of Willy Caballero.
23′
Silva picks out Sane inside the left-hand edge of the penalty area and the winger looks to get down the outside of Nyom, but the right-back stands him up well and forces Sane to run the ball out of play for a goal kick. West Brom are defending with a very narrow shape at the moment which is making it hard for City to break through.
21′
City are completely dominant in this game at the minute but they haven’t really got going at the pace or intensity that Pep Guardiola may have wanted them to.
19′
West Brom are sitting extremely deep now with all 11 players sat inside their own defensive third, allowing Nicolas Otamendi to surge forward and hit a powerful, low shot towards goal, but despite the ball wobbling slightly as it approaches him, Foster holds on with ease.
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17′HUGE CHANCE!!! A huge chance for City as Aguero capitalises on a mistake by Craig Dawson to play in Sane who only has Foster to beat from just inside the left-hand corner of the penalty box, but he drags his left-footed shot across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
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15′Close! The ball falls to Kolarov 25 yards out from goal on the left-hand corner of the penalty box and the full-back’s drive towards goal is flicked on audaciously by Gabriel Jesus and goes just wide of the post, although the offside flag does go up against the striker anyway.
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14′Save!! Ben Foster is called into action for the first time in the game as he dives to his left to keep out Aleksandar Kolarov’s 30-yard free-kick following a foul on Silva, although it was a relatively routine save for Foster though in truth.
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12′Huge appeals for a City penalty as Sane rolls the ball between Allan Nyom’s legs and the defender pulls him to ground to prevent him getting to it just inside the left-hand edge of the area, but referee Craig Pawson isn’t interested and waves play on!
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10′Fernandinho plays a wonderful, long, diagonal pass out to Sane on the left-hand side and the winger slips a pass into Silva who’s made the run ahead of him, but his cross is deflected allowing Jonny Evans to clear the ball away.
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8′City are knocking the ball around amongst the back four with ease at the minute close to the halfway line, but West Brom, as they so often do, look to be keeping their shape and discipline extremely well.
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6′Kevin De Bruyne gets his first chance to get the ball into the box from close to the corner flag on the right-hand side following a one-two with Fernandinho, but his dangerous cross fizzes across the edge of the six yard box and out of play on the far side.
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4′As you might expect City are seeing plenty of the ball already and David Silva looks to slip a neat pass in behind the West Brom defence for Sane to chase, but the pass is too weak and West Brom regain possession.
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2′It looks as though City have set up with a three man attack in these early stages with Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus occupying the wide areas and Aguero playing through the middle.
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1′Kick-off! Sergio Aguero gets the game underway for City.
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Referee Craig Pawson leads the players out onto the pitch. Kick-off is not far away now.
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Ilkay Gundogan and Sergio Aguero both scored twice as City ran out 4-0 winners when the two sides met at the Hawthorns in October, in what was their 10th consecutive Premier League win over West Brom.
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West Brom make three changes from their side that started the defeat to Chelsea, as Marc Wilson replaces Gareth McAuley at the back while Claudio Yacob and Nacer Chadli come in for Sam Field and James McClean in midfield.
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There is no place in the starting line-up though for Pablo Zabaleta, who will have to hope for an appearance off the bench in what is his final game at the Etihad Stadium after nine years at the club.
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Pep Guardiola makes two changes from the side that beat Leicester, with Gael Clichy and Raheem Sterling dropping to the bench. Aleksandar Kolarov and Sergio Aguero are the men who come into the side, meaning Aguero and Gabriel Jesus will get a rare opportunity to play up front together.
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Subs: Myhill, K Wilson, Field, Morrison, McClean, Leko, Robson-Kanu
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West Brom (4-5-1): Foster; Nyom, Dawson, Evans, M Wilson; Brunt, Livermore, Yacob, Fletcher, Chadli; Rondon
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Subs: Gunn, Zabaleta, Fernando, Sterling, Navas, Clichy, Stones
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Teams: Manchester City (4-4-2): Caballero; Fernandinho, Kompany, Otamendi, Kolarov; Silva, Toure, De Bruyne, Sane; Jesus, Aguero
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Despite their miserable recent form, they do still sit eighth in the table, however they are a mammoth 16 points behind Everton in seventh, and are above Southampton and Bournemouth on goal difference only.
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West Brom meanwhile were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea in their last game, a result that extended their winless run to seven games, as well as securing the Premier League title for Chelsea.
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The game is their third home match in succession having beaten Crystal Palace and Leicester at the Etihad Stadium in their last two outings, however they were far from convincing against the Foxes and were perhaps fortunate to escape with all three points.
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City currently sit fourth in the Premier League table, however a win today would move them above Liverpool and into third, putting them in a strong position to secure Champions League football on the final day of the season.
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Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League game between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium.
Substitution Marc Wilson James McClean