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Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure will be the key man for Manchester City against West Bromwich Albion on Friday. Getty

Manchester City will face West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League Boxing Day clash at the Hawthorns on Friday.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is at 3pm GMT. Catch the highlights of the game on Match of the Day on BBC One and BBC One HD at 11pm GMT.

Overview

West Brom are not enjoying a great run in the last few matches as they have managed only two wins in the last 10 matches played in all competitions. In the last fixture, Charlie Austin's hat-trick helped Queens Park Rangers register a 3-2 victory over the Potters.

Alan Irvine has a tough task on Friday as the Premier League champions have been in fine form in the last few matches, despite the absence of star striker Sergio Aguero. West Brom will need performance from Saido Berahino and Stephane Sessegnon in order to seal an upset.

David Silva
David Silva needs to step up for Manchester City in the absence of Aguero and Dzeko. Getty

Meanwhile, City have not shown any sign of struggle as they won their last eight matches (in all competitions) in a row. In those eight matches, the English champions have managed to keep five clean sheets.

Manuel Pellegrini will be looking for nothing less than a win when his side take on West Brom on Friday. A victory will see them maintain their three-point gap against the league leaders Chelsea at the top of the table.

What Managers Say

Ala Irvine: "I'm still desperately disappointed about the QPR result and I need this game to move on completely. Overall it was a really good performance last weekend. We deserved to win the game and to come away with nothing at all was extremely galling. We have to learn from what went wrong but also build on the positives, because there were plenty of them."

Manuel Pellegrini: "It is always hard to win, the first time and the second time. Maybe when you already win one title, at the beginning of the season, especially after a World Cup, maybe it is a bit difficult. But after that, I think that is the same degree of difficulty from one year to another. We are playing now again with the intensity and in style of play we always do, though.

Betting Odds (bwin)

  • West Bromwich Albion to win: 11/2
  • Draw: 57/17
  • Manchester City to win: 11/21

Team Form

West Bromwich Albion

  • Last Five (all competitions): L L D W L
  • Last Result: Queens Park Rangers 3-2 West Bromwich Albion

Manchester City

  • Last Five (all competitions): W W W W W
  • Last Result: Manchester City 3-0 Crystal Palace

Team News

Saido Berahino
Saido Berahino has been a reported transfer target for Tottenham and Liverpool. Getty Images/Laurence Griffiths

West Bromwich Albion

  • Injured: Martin Olsson (calf)
  • Doubtful: Victor Anichebe (groin), Chris Brunt (hamstring)
  • Suspended: N/A

Possible XI: Foster; Wisdom, McAuley, Lescott, Pocognoli; Morrison, Brunt, Dorrans; Sessegnon, Ideye, Berahino

Manchester City

  • Injured: Sergio Agüero (knee), Edin Dzeko (calf), Matija Nastasic (thigh)
  • Doubtful: Stevan Jovetic (match fitness), Vincent Kompany (match fitness)
  • Suspended: N/A

Possible XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Demichelis, Kolarov, Clichy; Toure, Navas, Lampard, Silva, Nasri; Milner