Good morning! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's early Premier League kickoff as Manchester City host West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium. Both sides have contrasting goals for the final stages of the campaign and will be looking for three points this afternoon to help them towards those respective aims. It promises to be an intriguing affair! Let's start with a look at the hosts...

It really has been a disappointing period for Manchester City, whose season is hanging by a thread going into the final months of the campaign. The Premier League is now their only slight hope of silverware, and it could well be the last chance for Manuel Pellegrini to save his job as well. The Chilean has faced renewed speculation over his future in recent weeks and, despite leading the team to a domestic double in his first season at the helm, he looks increasingly likely to be out of work come the summer.

It would be a harsh decision to sack a manager who won the club's second Premier League title in his debut season, but Roberto Mancini was subjected to similar treatment before him and his dismissal came as a result of lack of progress, both domestically and in Europe. The simple facts state that they have again failed to progress on those two fronts this season, so Pellegrini finds himself in a similar situation to his predecessor now.

Pellegrini does still have a chance to save himself by launching a comeback in the title race, but that is looking increasingly unlikely. They come into this match trailing Chelsea by six points having also played a game more than the leaders. They have overturned a bigger deficit already this term, but they are in poor form at the moment and, with just eight matches remaining, it is hard to see them turning things around this time. It would take both a dramatic collapse for Chelsea and a change in form for City for that to happen.

Perhaps the fatal blow to City's title hopes was struck last weekend, when they fell to a shock 1-0 defeat away to lowly Burnley at Turf Moor. City had the chance to close the gap to two points in that game, but George Boyd's strike punished the lacklustre champions and they couldn't have too many complaints at coming away with nothing. They were let off the hook to an extent when Chelsea could only manage a draw against Southampton, but having missed opportunities to close the gap in matches against Liverpool and Burnley in recent weeks, it may be too late for City now.

They followed up the trip to Burnley with a far more daunting one to the Camp Nou, where they were looking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. They ended up losing Wednesday's second 1-0 to crash out of the competition, but in truth it could have been far worse for Pellegrini's side. Joe Hart made a string of remarkable saves to keep the score respectable, although they did squander a great chance to make things interesting late on as Sergio Aguero missed a penalty.

Pellegrini will need to pick his side up from that defeat, and indeed from their general form in recent weeks. The champions have lost four of their last five matches in all competitions and have only won three of their last 12 - a poor record for a club looking to challenge on all fronts. They have lost two in a row coming into this match and are now looking to avoid falling to three defeats on the bounce for the first time since October-November 2010.

They have only won half of the 30 available points since the turn of the year, a record that would leave them 10th in the table had the season started on New Year's Day - one point behind today's opponents. Even their home form is faltering, with just two victories from their last six games at the Etihad in all competitions. They have only lost twice at home in the league all season, however, and only once in their last 12. They have conceded 12 league goals in front of their own fans, though, which is twice as many as Chelsea.

There is plenty of cause for optimism from a West Brom perspective, then, and the Baggies will come into this match quietly confident that they can come away with a result. There are unlikely to be many better times to play City, and West Brom themselves have vastly improved since Tony Pulis took over at the club. They now appear to be clear of danger but Pulis is not the type of manager who will let his side take their foot off the pedal in the closing months, so City will not have an easy game today.

Many people believed the job Pulis took on at West Brom to be a harder one than he had at Palace last season, but the result has been more or less the same. He has dragged them eight points clear of the bottom three now and, with eight matches remaining, that should be good enough to secure their place in the top flight for another season at least. Pulis's proud record of never having been relegated in his 23 years of management looks to be staying intact.

A selection of statistics can demonstrate just how impressive Pulis has been in his time at the helm so far. They have claimed 15 points from a possible 27 under him, winning four and losing just two of his nine matches in charge. That is an average of almost 1.7 points per game, in comparison to just 0.9 prior to his arrival this season. Pulis is renowned for his defensive organisation, and that has again been the bedrock of the Baggies' improvement recently, with six clean sheets in their nine league games under the new boss.

Another of those clean sheets came last weekend as West Brom returned to winning ways with a 1-0 triumph of Pulis's former club Stoke City. Brown Ideye's strike in the 19th minute was enough to give the Baggies all three points - a much-needed result after back-to-back defeats at the hands of local rivals Aston Villa in the league and cup.

West Brom have now lost just one of their last six Premier League matches and have kept four clean sheets in their last five. That has lifted them up to 13th in the Premier League table and, while relegation was the main concern just a few weeks ago, the Baggies may now be looking up the table rather than down it. They are now closer to the top half than they are to the bottom three, and breaking into the top 10 would be a huge achievement in such a short space of time for Pulis.

There are still major concerns over the club's away form, however, and that is something that will need to improve if they do harbour realistic hopes of finishing in the top half. They are without a win in their last nine league away games, a run that stretches back to a 1-0 win over Leicester at the start of November. They only won two games on the road all season, and only the promoted trio of Burnley, Leicester and QPR have amassed fewer points on their travels.

Pulis's best hope of improving that record today is likely to be keeping things tight at the back. His side have only scored nine goals away from home all season, the second worst tally in the entire division after Aston Villa. They have also only led at half time in one away game this term, and they went on to lost that one 3-2 against Queens Park Rangers.

TEAM NEWS: The teams are in for both sides and the headline news for the hosts is that Wilfried Bony starts up front as one of a host of changes to the side that crashed out of the Champions League in midweek. Pellegrini has made seven overall, with Joe Hart, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany the only players to retain their places. The Baggies, meanwhile, are forced into a few changes of their own as Foster, Ideye and Brunt all miss out. Full teams news for both sides coming right up...

MAN CITY STARTING XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Clichy; Navas, Fernando, Lampard, Silva; Bony, Aguero

MAN CITY SUBS: Caballero, Sagna, Demichelis, Milner, Fernandinho, Jovetic, Dzeko

WEST BROM STARTING XI: Myhill; Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Lescott; Baird, Morrison, Gardner, Fletcher, Sessegnon; Berahino

WEST BROM SUBS: Rose, Wisdom, Davidson, Pocognoli, Mulumbu, Nabi, Anichebe

What can we make of those two sides, then? Well, it is something of a surprise to see Pellegrini make so many changes to the team that lost to Barcelona, although he has been forced into a few of them and fatigue could also play a part. It is no shock, however, to see Joe Hart continue in between the sticks following his heroic display in goal at the Camp Nou. Barcelona could have been threatening double figures had the England number one not been in such fine form, and he didn't deserve to be on the losing side having denied Neymar, Messi and Suarez on numerous occasions.

At the other end of the field, Aguero is unsurprisingly another of the four players to keep their place in the side, but the Argentine will need to get over the disappointment of having missed a crucial penalty at the Camp Nou. Had he scored, City would have been within one goal of extra time with 15 minutes left, which would have made things very interesting. It was his superb goal in the first leg that gave the team a chance, however, and it is hard to criticise a player who has been in such good form whenever he has been fit this season. He is joined up top by Wilfried Bony, who is still looking for his first City goal since switching from Swansea.

There are no fewer than three changes in midfield, with Navas, Fernando and Lampard all coming back into the side. Toure is sidelined with an Achilles injury while Milner is struggling with a knee problem following the midweek defeat, leaving Silva as the only player to retain his place in the middle of the park. The switch of formation to 4-4-2 means that they will have one less midfielder in there and, while Pellegrini has taken some stick for his tactics this season, it is a system that has worked well at home to teams he would expect to beat.

Kompany had another fairly shaky game against Barcelona following mistakes against both Liverpool and Burnley that led to goals, but the skipper retains his place again today. He is joined at the heart of the defence by Mangala, while Zabaleta - a surprise omission in midweek - and Clichy, suspended for the Barcelona game, come back in on the flanks. The whole back four needs to start showing the sort of form that proved to be the difference in the title run-in last season.

As for West Brom, they are without Ideye due to a knock this afternoon, but Berahino will be looking to prove a point having been overlooked for the England squad to play Lithuania and Italy later this month. He was included in the Under-21s squad but may have felt that his form this season should have earned him a call-up to the senior fold. He has a chance to prove himself against top opposition again this afternoon.

Sessegnon will look to provide support for Berahino, while long-time Manchester United servant Darren Fletcher also starts again in midfield. Baird comes into the side as an extra midfielder in place of Ideye as Pulis looks to crowd out the middle of the park and limit the space for City to operate in. They are likely to be largely limited to chances on the break today, so the pace of the likes of Sessegnon and Berahino could be key.

At the back, Olsson is drafted into the heart of the defence due to a suspension to Brunt, which means that Lescott will move over to the left against his former club. There is a change in between the sticks as well as Boaz Myhill comes in for Foster after the regular number one picked up a knee injury against Stoke. He is expected to be out for a month or so, which means that he will play no part for England later this month.

PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at the Etihad, which means that it is time for a prediction! City have found things tough of late while West Brom are a very hard team to beat under Pulis, but City rarely fail to win these types of games. Had it been at The Hawthorns I would perhaps predict a draw, but for me City should pick up all three points this afternoon. I'll go for a 2-0 home victory.

It seems that we're unanimous with our predictions for this match, as both of the Sports Mole sofa panellists have also gone for a 2-0 City win today. Find out what we had to say about this match in our video preview below:

City's unsurprisingly have the better recent record against West Brom, winning all of their last six league meetings and nine of their last 10 in the Premier League, with the exception being a draw. They have scored 24 goals in that time and conceded just seven, a run that includes a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day. City raced into a three-goal lead before half time in that match at The Hawthorns, before Ideye broke his Premier League duck with a consolation.

West Brom have never won at the Etihad, drawing their first two games at the stadium but losing the most recent five. Their last visit came in April of last year, with Zabaleta, Demichelis and Aguero all getting on the scoresheet in another 3-1 triumph for Pellegrini's side. That helped them on towards the Premier League title last season, and another victory today may just keep their hopes alive this term.

Watch out for a fast start in this match - City have scored four goals inside the first 10 minutes of their last three meetings with West Brom, who have also conceded a league-high 10 goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season. City's main threat in the current campaign has come in the second half, with a league-high 34 goals after the break, while the Baggies have conceded a league-low four goals in the final 15 minutes of matches.

KICKOFF: West Brom get us underway at the Etihad as they look to strike another blow to City's title hopes, while the hosts aim to move within three points of Chelsea.

Two minutes in and West Brom are already down to 10 men! It is a nightmare start for the Baggies, but it is all of their own making. McAuley's back-pass put Dawson in trouble and Bony nipped in to get there first before being brought down by Dawson, who was the last man. It is the right decision to produce a red card, but Neil Swarbrick has had a shocker in sending McAuley off instead of Dawson! Another case of mistaken identity!

The resulting free kick from Lampard strikes the top of the wall, but West Brom will know that they are really up against it now. They have to face the champions with 10 men for 88 minutes, and it would take a very resilient display to get anything from the game now.

McAuley did make a challenge after Dawson's in the incident that caused the red card, but that can't have been the foul Swarbrick gave as it would have been a penalty rather than a free kick. It seems to be a case of mistaken identity, which is sure to raise more questions about the standard of refereeing this season.

City are completely controlling things in the opening exchanges, as you might expect. I would be surprised if the pattern of this game changes much now, with City dominating the ball inside the West Brom half.

A few shooting chances for Silva in quick succession, but he sees two of them blocked before swiping another one wide of the mark. The pressure is relentless in these opening stages.

Pulis's organisation and team shape is going to be even more important now. It is likely to be like an attack vs. defence drill in training for much of the game now, but the Baggies have shown enough defensive steel under Pulis to give them a glimmer of hope.

Myhill has his first save of the day to make, but it is a comfortable one for the stand-in skipper. It was Lampard who went for one of his trademark drives from just outside the box, but he didn't quite catch it right and it is easy for Myhill.

This time it is Aguero who goes for goal from 20 yards or so, snaking across the field before trying to drill one towards goal. He slices it wildly, however, and the ball ends up a long way off target.

City get in behind the defence for one of the first times today as Aguero clips a pass over for Navas to race on to. He gets to the byline and cuts it back towards Silva and Bony in the middle, but West Brom have enough bodies back to deal with the danger.

That red card hasn't done much for the tempo of this game nor the atmosphere inside the stadium. City need to quicken the tempo a bit if they are to break through.

CHANCE! The first hint of a chance for the hosts and it comes as a result of a few quick passes. Silva and Aguero are combined as the ball drops to Lampard on the edge of the box, but the highest scoring midfielder in Premier League history uncharacteristically slices his effort well wide.

Manchester City have had a whopping 92% possession over the last five minutes, which gives you some idea of the level of control they have on this match at the moment. It is one-way traffic, but the visitors are holding firm so far.

SAVE! City may be forced into a lot of long-range shots today, and Silva has the best so far here. He arrows an effort towards the far top corner, but Myhill makes a good save diving to his left, parrying it away to safety in the process.

West Brom are spending all of their time inside their own third at the moment. They are getting a minimum of nine players behind the ball at all times, with Berahino the only one to occasionally approach the halfway line. The bus has been well and truly parked by Pulis.

The breakthrough finally arrives for City and it is Bony's first goal for the club! The hosts work it across from the right flank and it is Kompany who injects a bit of pace into the attack with a good first-time pass in to Fernandinho. His strike deflects up into the box and Bony brings it into his path before lashing his finish into the top corner.

SHOT! Again City come forward, this time making progress down the left flank. Silva is the creator, sliding a clever reverse pass into the path of Clichy, but the full-back slices a powerful effort well wide of the near post.

SAVE! Superb effort from Navas as he switches over to the left flank. He picks up the ball in the box and, with his back to goal, just works a yard of space. He wraps his foot around it and curls a vicious effort towards the top corner, but Myhill is there to make a fine stop.

City are beginning to find a bit more space since that opening goal, although West Brom haven't exactly shown much more attacking intent. The goal will have settled the nerves for the hosts as, for all of their possession, they were struggling to find a way through before.

CHANCE! More nice football from City as Silva slides a pass in to Bony, who produced a lovely first-time flick for Lampard. Again it is a position Lampard loves as he bursts late into the box, but the ball is caught under his feet a little and his shot goes well wide.

Silva is starting to run the show now. He is picking the ball up in some dangerous areas and threading passes through to those in front of him. He could be the key to unlocking this West Brom defence again.

Silva wins a free kick right on the edge of the box, but his subsequent effort is really poor. It was perhaps a little close for the Spaniard, but his strike cleared the crossbar by a long way.

West Brom just can't get out at the moment, and they haven't been able to since that early red card. I can't recall too many occasions when they have had possession in the City half, with the vast majority of this match being played in the Baggies' third.

City double their lead, and it is a shocking defensive error that hands them their second. Mangala wins an initial ball from a corner and it drops into a dangerous area. Olsson swipes at it but slices the ball, and that causes Myhill to readjust and only palm the ball straight to Fernando, who tucks it away from close range with a simple finish.

That is surely already game over here. City may want another just to make sure, but it has been one-way traffic throughout and West Brom have not been an attacking force whatsoever. It looks a tall order for them to even have a shot, yet alone score two goals here.

SAVES! Aguero is the latest to threaten for City as he drills a low strike towards goal from the edge of the box. Myhill makes the save, but parries it out into a dangerous area and is fortunate to see Baird there rather than a blue shirt. Zabaleta wins it back and is able to have a shot of his own, however, and Myhill is forced into another save.

There will be a minimum of two minutes added time at the end of this first half.

CHANCE! Another late chance for City to make it three as Aguero and Silva link up with a lovely one-two inside the box. Aguero opens up his body but the angle is against him and Myhill makes the save.

The first half comes to an end at the Etihad, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is one of the most one-sided games that I have seen for some time. An early red card left West Brom with a mountain to climb, and City have utterly dominated since to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

The red card arrived after just 82 seconds when Dawson brought down Bony following a McAuley error. Dawson was the last man and it is easy to see why Swarbrick produced the red, but the referee got the wrong man. McAuley, who made a second challenge on Bony moments later, was the man dismissed when it should have been Dawson.

It was one-way traffic from that point on, and City finally broke the deadlock shortly before the half-hour mark. There was an element of luck involved as a deflected effort bounced up kindly for Bony, but the Ivorian striker still had a lot to do. He hooked the ball into his path before slamming a fine finish into the top corner for his first City goal.

The second goal arrived five minutes before the break, and it was a simple finish for Fernando following a defensive error from the Baggies. A corner dropped into a dangerous area and Olsson swiped at the clearance, slicing it towards his own goal. Myhill got a touch to it, but only served to push it into the path of Fernando, who duly tucked it away.

If you were wondering just how much City dominated in that half, they have had 80% possession so far, and it is a surprise that it hasn't been more than that. They have also had 26 shots on goal, including blocked efforts, while West Brom have not had a single one. I would be surprised if they have even had possession in the City half more than three or four times.

It really has been complete and utter dominance from the champions and, while 2-0 is often regarded as a slightly dangerous lead, it is very hard to see any way back for West Brom. This one is all but over already, with the visitors not even looking like having a shot yet alone getting two goals back.

The question of how many goals City could get today may be raised, but Pulis's side are rarely thrashed due to his defensive organisation skills. The hosts did create quite a few decent openings in that first half, though, and it would be a surprise if they didn't add to their lead in the coming 45 minutes. Aguero in particular looks desperate to get on the scoresheet.

KICKOFF: City get us back underway for the second half and are immediately on the front foot with another shooting opportunity as Bony lets fly from range. Myhill gets across to make a flying stop, though.

Aguero has been forced to drop a little deeper to find a bit of space quite often today, with the majority of his effort coming from outside the penalty area. You can tell how desperate he is to get on the scoresheet today, though.

West Brom have just about their most probing attack of the entire match so far as Fletcher picks the ball up on the right flank. He puts a cross into the box, but it is comfortably dealt with by Zabaleta at the back post.

CLOSE! Great turn of pace from Aguero as he races past Olsson in the area before drilling a low strike towards goal from a very tight angle. Myhill makes the save with his feet and, from the resulting corner, the ball drops to Bony, whose effort ripples the side-netting on the way behind.

Aguero looks to be getting increasingly frustrated at not being able to get amongst the goals yet today. You can be sure that he will have one or two more shooting opportunities at least, though.

CHANCE! City launch a rare counter-attack and get from defence to attack in a flash, with Navas leading the charge. He gives it to Aguero, who in turn plays it back to Silva. The Spaniard looks to guide it into the bottom corner, but it is too close to Myhill.

CHANCE! Big chance for Aguero to get that goal he so desperately wants, but somehow he can't turn it home from close range! It is good work from Navas as he beats his man on the flank before firing a low ball into the six-yard box. Aguero turns it goalwards but hits it straight at Myhill, who didn't know much about the save.

CHANCE! Another chance for City as Silva slips the ball in for Lampard, who has made another late run into the area. The former Chelsea man's finish is really disappointing however, playing more of a back-pass to Myhill than a shot. He hasn't had his shooting boots on today!

OFF THE WOODWORK! City are inches away from extending their lead twice in a matter of seconds! First Aguero links up with Lampard before drilling a low effort towards the far bottom corner. He finally beats Myhill, but this time his shot strikes the foot of the post. The rebound bounces out to Bony, but his effort then hits the crossbar! That West Brom goal is living a charmed life.

CHANCE! Just moments after hitting the woodwork twice City have another chance for grab a third, but his time Silva is denied from close range at the front post. How is this only 2-0?!

SAVE! Myhill is again called into action at his near post, this time to deny Navas, who opted for a shot from a tight angle when he had Bony and Aguero in the middle.

This is about as far from City's experience at the Camp Nou in midweek as it is possible to be. They could have been on the end of double figures that night, but could have been pushing the same tally themselves here.

The biggest cheer of the day from the away games comes as Sessegnon wins a free kick just inside the City half. That is about as good as it has got for the visitors!

MAN CITY SUB: The first change of the afternoon comes from the hosts as Lampard is replaced by Stevan Jovetic.

West Brom win a corner (!), but Hart punches the ball away and it gives City the chance to break clear. Navas leads the charge with his electric pace, but the attack eventually slows down and the Baggies get their 10 men behind the ball once again.

CLOSE! Jovetic looks to make his own mark on this game as he picks the ball up just outside the box and curls a low effort towards the bottom corner. It has Myhill worried, but skips just past the far post.

City are just in second gear at the moment, if that, but they are still in complete control of proceedings. They will want more goals in the final 20 minutes and, in truth, should be more than two goals to the good already, while the full-time whistle cannot come soon enough for the visitors.

OFF THE BAR! Oh my word, West Brom have their first shot of the day and they hit the bar! They win a second corner and Olsson is able to flick the ball on to Berahino, who is standing just a few yards from goal. He nods it on but somehow doesn't score, instead hitting the woodwork and seeing the rebound bounce past him. That was an absolute sitter for the striker.

That may have made things a little more interesting in the final 15 minutes had West Brom pulled a goal back. It would have been very much against the run of play and undeserved, but they are always a threat from set pieces.

City finally have their third, and it is Silva who caps off a fine display with a goal! Jovetic and Clichy link up down the left before the latter again finds Jovetic on the edge of the box. The sub's strike looks to be heading just off target, but Silva is there to direct it into the bottom corner.

MAN CITY SUB: A second change for the hosts as Edin Dzeko replaces Bony, who finally opened his account for the club today.

MAN CITY SUB: A third and final change for the home side as Silva, scorer of the third goal, is replaced by James Milner.

You get the sense that both sides would be content with the final whistle now. City are playing almost at walking pace now as they cruise towards the most comfortable three points they would have had all season.

Navas has been a real livewire down the right flank all day today. His pace has caused so many problems and often been the key to getting in behind a stubborn West Brom defence.

WEST BROM SUB: The Baggies make their first change of the match as Berahino is replaced by Victor Anichebe.

The ball is squeezed in to Aguero, but Lescott is quick to close him down and nick the ball away from the frustrated striker. A goal here would do the Argentine the world of good following his recent struggles.

WEST BROM SUB: Another change for the visitors as Sessegnon is replaced by Youssouf Mulumbu in the closing stages.

There will be just two minutes of added time before West Brom are put out of their misery here.

CLOSE! Almost a late fourth for City as Dzeko tries to pass one into the bottom corner from 20 yards, but it flies a yard or so past the post.

Well, it doesn't get any easier than that. City move to within three points of leaders Chelsea with a 3-0 victory over West Brom, who were reduced to 10 men inside two minutes of the match. Bony, Fernando and Silva got the goals for the champions as they cruised to the result that just about keeps them in the title race.

That is all we have time for this afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's early Premier League kickoff as Manchester City coast to a 3-0 win over West Brom. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!