Today at 3:00 p.m. ET at The Hawthorns in England, Manchester City will take on West Bromwich Albion in Barclays Premier League play that can be live streamed by clicking this link.
Manchester City has had a strong Premier League season so far, with eight wins, just four losses and a draw placing them third in the table, and they've done much of it without captain Vincent Kompany. Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has expressed excitement for the center back's return.
''Kompany is in the squad list and he is travelling with the team," Pellegrini said. ''Vincent is a very important player. He is a very good defender and, of course, we need him. He is also the captain of the team and he will normally be in the 11 starting."
Pellegrini also stressed that their defense hasn't been as bad as some numbers may have suggested without Kompany, and that Manchester City is simply adding to a group that was sturdy in the captain's absence.
''We have other captains but all the team is happy with the return of the captain," Pellegrini said. "But I repeat, we don't have as many problems in defending as the scores say and the results say. I think we have the third best defensive record in the Premier League.
"In the last five (domestic) games just Sunderland have scored one goal (against us). In all the others we have had clean sheets. So the other defenders can do it as well, but Vincent is always an important player.''
West Brom has a reputation for aggressively attacking, so that supposedly stiff defense will be tested today. ''They are a strong team in the air and a very strong team defending, so we need to play a good match," Pellegrini said of West Bromwich. ''I saw the games they played against Chelsea in London and the draw at home against Aston Villa and they are a difficult team.''
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