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A lot has changed since West Brom escaped the Etihad with a 1-1 draw in December, with the mot notable change being the manager at The Hawthorns. The day after that draw in Manchester, manager Slaven Bilic was sacked and replaced by Sam Allardyce. City were sixth in the league after that match, five points behind Spurs and Liverpool, but while the Baggies remain in 19th place, City have climbed to 2nd, two points behind United with a game in hand and unbeaten in 17 league and cup matches, winning the last 6 Premier League games and last ten in all competitions.
Form
Manager Allardyce is well known for rescuing teams from the threat of relegation, however, the former Bolton, Newcastle and England manager is yet to have the desired impact at The Hawthorns to move the Baggies away from the danger zone. They remain in 19th position with just two wins so far this season, and form Allardyce’s seven games in charge, they have won just one – a 3-2 at local rivals Wolves on 16th January.
Since the trip to Manchester, West Brom have lost four matches – 3-0, 5-0 and 4-0 at home to Aston Villa, Leeds United and Arsenal respectively, while on the road they secured a 1-1 draw at Liverpool and were beaten 2-1 at West Ham. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round stage on penalties by Blackpool.
Danger Men
Matheus Pereira is the Baggies top scorer with 5 goals in 16 matches. However, he has had 21 shots in total, giving him a shot accuracy rating of 52% and a goal conversion rate of 24%. Hal Robson-Kanu, Callum Robinson and Semi Ajayi all have 3 goals, with Robson-Kanu as only played 9 games and he has a shot accuracy of 71%.
Pereira also leads the assist chart with 3 to his name so far. He has attempted 489 passes and completed 394, giving him a pass accuracy of 81%. Darnell Furlong and Kamil Grosicki have 2 assists each, and it says something about the home side when the latter has 2 assists yet has only played 5 times this season. He has attempted 88 passes with 67 complete.
Who’s The Boss
Sam Allardyce took over in December, and the new boss has got his work cut out if he is to keep West Brom in the Premier League.
Last Time At The Hawthorns
City’s last visit saw the blues triumph 3-2, thanks to goals form Leroy Sane, Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling
Home Statistics
Played 9
Won 1
Drawn 2
Lost 6
Goals For 5
Goals against 24
Points won 5