Manchester City winger Kevin De Bruyne. (Photo : Getty Images)
Fourth-running squad Manchester City FC (16-9-6, 54 points) is set to face middling team West Bromwich Albion FC (10-11-10, 40 points) at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, April 9th as the 2015-2016 Premier League season winds down to its last few matchdays.
Manchester City is looking to hold firm their grasp on the fourth spot of the league table, which is the English top flight's final Champions League berth for next season. City is only a point above fifth-placed squad Manchester United and three points ahead of sixth-placed team West Ham United with only seven games left in each one's campaign.
The top three teams at the end of the season will automatically qualify in the group stage of the Champions League while the fourth-placed finisher will enter the playoff round of Europe's most prestigious club continental competitions.
City is coming off a 4-0 demolition of newly-promoted side AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last Saturday, as per Goal.
Brazilian midfielder Fernando opened the scoring floodgates at the seventh minute of the match which was immediately followed up by a goal from Belgian winger Kevin De Bruyne five minutes later.
Argentine striker Sergio Agüero made it 3-0 at the halftime break as he added another goal at the 19th minute. Serbian defender Aleksandar Kolarov netted one in stoppage time to complete the four-goal haul of Manuel Pellegrini's squad.
Meanwhile, West Brom settled for 0-0 draw with bottom three team Sunderland at the Stadium of Light also last Saturday, as reported by SkySports.
The tie kept the Baggies in the middle of the league table, at the 11th spot, four points behind 10th-placed Chelsea FC and a comfortable 13 points above the Black Cats, which are currently the top team in the bottom three relegation zone with 27 points.
The match will be more crucial for the Citizens as they want to fend off their streaking cross-city rivals United from overtaking them for the last spot in next season's Champions League competitions.
The predicted result is a 3-0 romp for Manchester City.
Manchester City starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Caballero; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Navas, Silva, De Bruyne; Agüero
West Brom starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Foster; Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Chester; Sandro, Yacob; Gardner, Fletcher, Berahino; Rondón
