West Brom – Man City

Monday night football in England, as West Bromwich Albion will take on Manchester City at home in the final game of the Premier League first round.

West Brom made a couple of interesting signings in the off season like Chester or Lambert (both expected to start), but generally they will rely on the chemistry of last seasons’ squad. It was a good season for WBA, no problems with relegation and very solid play after Tony Pulis took over – but their home record was a little shaky, with 8 defeats in 19 matches and defense was also a problem at times. The signing of James Chester from Hull should help with that.

Manchester City is treated with a bit less respect than in the previous seasons, not exactly being considered big time title challengers this time around. The only big name signing they made was Raheem Sterling from Liverpool (impressive, but overpriced) and the other relevant one was Fabian Delph from Villa. City had a mediocre off season to say the least, looking particularly weak in defense, allowing a lot of goals even from second rate teams. Still, there`s obviously world class talent in the side and the Citizens are deserving favorites at odds about 1.65 coming into their Premier League opener.

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Team news & lineups:

Regular keeper Foster is out for WBA, with McAuley being questionable. Man City will miss Zabaleta, Delph and Demichelis but there are also question marks over the presence of Yaya Toure, Silva, Aguero, Clichy and Nasri.

West Brom: Myhill – Lescott, McAuley, Chester, Dawson – Brunt, Morrison, Fletcher, Gardner – Lambert, Berahino

Man City: Hart – Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov – Toure, Fernandinho – Silva, Navas, Sterling – Aguero

Manchester City always got the best of WBA lately, winning 7 games in a row, but obviously each game is different. West Brom is a good, solid team, they have excellent chemistry and that`s always an underrated aspect. City wasn`t that great last season and they struggled on the road at times, pre-season was also pretty poor this year. Away from home, in the first round and with important players out of the lineup, I believe Man City is prone to an upset – and West Brom is the kind of team that can take advantage.

Look for the hosts to play an organized game of football and their chemistry should allow them to frustrate City. My tip is West Brom +0,75 asian handicap, medium-high stakes seems like a good investment on this bet. Prediction: West Bromwich Albion – Manchester City 1-1.

Pick: West Brom (+0,75 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.10 @ Bet365
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 7.70
Event date: 10 August