West Brom vs. Manchester City: Issues and Decisions That Will Shape EPL Game

Manchester City should give the Premier League schedule makers expensive holiday gifts this year.

"There’s a round of matches this weekend, then on the 26th, then on the 28th, and again on New Year’s Day—four games for everybody in less than two weeks," wrote Grantland's Mike L. Goodman last week.

While Chelsea had to go to Stoke City and still must make a trip to Southampton over the holiday, City have the potential to really savor the season.

The first of their four matches over the festive period was a fairly routine thrashing of Crystal Palace. Next is this fixture with West Bromwich Albion, who have taken nine points from nine home games, before they host Sunderland and Burnley.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini would never say it out loud, but this run of matches against bottom-feeders is just what his ailing club needs, particularly since City's schedule toughens considerably in January.

Here are five issues and decisions that will shape City's trip to the Hawthorns.

Will City Go Without a Striker Again?

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Silva's brace was welcome, and necessary.

Apparently so.

"The situation is the same as last week, with three strikers out—Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic,” the City manager said about the clash with West Brom, according to Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News.

Even without that troika, City hung three goals on Crystal Palace in their most recent outing. It turns out that David Silva and Yaya Toure are fairly adept scorers from their midfield positions.

Then again, we already knew that.

Pellegrini has no reason to force Jose Angel Pozo or another young striker into the XI, though having one on the bench would be advisable in case City are trailing in the second half. 

At Least One More Match Without Vincent Kompany, Too

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City are getting by without their captain surprisingly well.

At the rate things are going for Manchester City, captain Vincent Kompany may have a hard time getting back into the XI once he heals up.

All right, that's ridiculous.

There is no doubt City managed well without Kompany against Crystal Palace, though, and they beat AS Roma to secure qualification in the Champions League without him, too.

Kompany should be fit "at the end of this week or next week" said Pellegrini, according to David McDonnell in the Daily Mirror.

City rushed Kompany back against Leicester City, and they must resist the temptation to do so again. 

Manuel Pellegrini Is Unnecessarily Poking the Bear

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Pellegrini can never quite get Jose Mourinho off his mind.

Manuel Pellegrini needs to decide finally whether he is going to be the classy manager above the tabloid verbal slap fights, or whether he is going to indulge in them against his better judgment.

"You never win the title in December," Pellegrini said, according to a recent report in The Telegraph. "We have a long five months to continue playing as well as we are doing so far and we will see at the end of the season which team has most points."

Who could Pellegrini possibly be aiming these words at?

"We are not thinking about Chelsea, we are thinking about just our team," he continued.

Right.

City have cut Chelsea's lead in the Premier League to three by quietly going about the business of winning. Pellegrini would do well to emphasize that bit about working quietly going forward. 

The Baggies Are Doing a Poor Job of Hiding Where Their Goals Come from

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Berahino is getting a lot of defensive attention these days, with good reason.

Father to son: "How were your grades this term?"

Son to father: "Four F's and a D."

Father to son: "Well, it sounds to me like you are spending too much time on one subject."

So it goes for West Bromwich Albion and the scoring column. The Baggies have 17 Premier League goals, and Saido Berahino has seven of them.

After Berahino, West Brom's leading scorer is defender Craig Dawson, who has two goals.

An optimist would suggest the Midlands club have several players capable of scoring a goal, since so many Baggies have scored once this season.

However, the truth is, beyond Berahino, West Brom are awfully limited from an offensive standpoint. 

City (and Chelsea) Are Locked in a Battle with Old Man Par

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Mourinho knows about navigating long seasons in the Premier League.

Golf is an infuriating sport for those who play it. The bunkers, the water hazards and the out-of-bounds stakes are constantly beckoning the ball.

Then you get to the green, and the superintendent has cut the hole six paces from the back of the green on a severe slope.

The obstacles to a good score on a golf course are relentless but not as relentless as Old Man Par.

Old Man Par is the scorecard, with the par for each hole set out for the golfer before the ball is struck even once.

Old Man Par never hits it into a bunker, or into the water, or out of bounds.

Old Man Par just makes par every hole, like it says on the scorecard.

Manchester City and Chelsea are battling each other for the Premier League title the way, say, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson might square off in a golf tournament.

Neither man can do much about the other's score. All he can control is his own game and hope that his score relative to par is good enough at the end.

So it is for City and Chelsea, who play every match knowing that any points dropped are likely to cost them ground in the title race.

Even in a long season, that sort of pressure is constant and acute.