Man City V West Brom at Etihad Stadium - Match Preview

Silva doubtful for Baggies clash Manchester City playmaker David Silva is a doubt for the Barclays Premier League clash with West Brom due to an ankle problem.Manager Manuel Pellegrini has revealed winger Jesus Navas - who, like Silva, missed Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Sunderland - has also been struggling with an ankle issue, and Monday's game will come too soon for midfielder Yaya Toure to return after his leg injury.Defender Matija Nastasic, out of action since February because of a knee complaint, remains unavailable.City go into Monday's contest off the back of a 2-2 home draw with rock-bottom Sunderland, which followed a 3-2 loss at league leaders Liverpool, now nine points clear of City, albeit with the Reds having only three more games to go and Pellegrini's men five.Reflecting on the shock Sunderland result, Pellegrini has reiterated that relegation-threatened clubs like the Wearside outfit and 16th-placed West Brom make for particularly tricky opponents.Baggies boss Pepe Mel, meanwhile, has made it clear he and his players have taken great encouragement from the Black Cats' exploits at the Etihad Stadium ahead of their own trip to the ground.But Pellegrini has also stressed that each assignment in the Premier League is different, and is eager to see his side bounce back from the disappointment of that previous outing.He said: "I think all the games are different."It would be very easy to just focus on what has happened in other games."The performance in every game is very important and I hope we are going to improve our performance against West Brom."West Brom defender Jonas Olsson and midfielder James Morrison are doubtful for the clash.Olsson, who came off in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Tottenham because of an Achilles problem, and Morrison, absent from that game due to an ankle complaint, have both missed training this week and will be assessed over the weekend.On-loan winger Scott Sinclair will definitely sit the match out as it is against his parent club.The Baggies are currently three points clear of the relegation zone in 16th place with five games left to play, two more matches than each of the three sides directly below them.When asked ahead of the City encounter if he was one for scrutinising the standings and trying to work out various permutations, boss Mel said: "Yes."And I imagine another 10 or 12 managers are possibly doing the same - both those at the top and the bottom of the league."But what we really need to worry about most is ourselves."West Brom head into the contest in fairly decent form, having won twice and lost only once in their last five games.They have 33 points from their 33 matches and while a shock victory at City would certainly represent a major step towards survival for the midlands club, Mel would not be ready to relax.Asked if he felt one more win would be enough to guarantee West Brom's safety, the Spaniard - who has been in charge since January - said: "No, I don't think so."I really do like the Premier League - because every week things change."

Source : PA

Source: PA