Tevez makes comeback for City

Manchester City were boosted by the return of captain Carlos Tevez for this afternoon’s Barclays Premier League clash with West Brom at the Hawthorns.

Tevez, who came back to Manchester from Argentina earlier in the week having missed two matches with a thigh problem, took the skipper’s armband from compatriot Pablo Zabaleta, the only survivor from the team that had started Thursday night’s Europa League match in Poland against Lech Poznan.

Mancini brought back the majority of the line-up from the league defeat at Wolves the previous weekend, with goalkeeper Joe Hart, the Toure brothers Kolo and Yaya and striker Mario Balotelli amongst those recalled. Nigel de Jong was also included.

Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo made only one adjustment from his team’s last outing, with Marek Cech coming in for the suspended Gonzalo Jara following the Chilean’s sending-off against Blackpool on Monday.

Pablo Ibanez was retained after his red card at Bloomfield Road was rescinded, while there was a place on the bench for joint top-scorer Peter Odemwingie, who had been absent for four games with a knee injury.

West Brom: Carson, Shorey, Tamas, Pablo, Cech, Mulumbu, Scharner, Brunt, Cox, Thomas, Fortune.

Subs: Myhill, Tchoyi, Barnes, Miller, Reid, Dorrans, Odemwingie.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Toure, Kompany, Boateng, De Jong, Barry, Toure Yaya, Silva, Tevez, Balotelli.

Subs: Given, Richards, Milner, Adebayor, Adam Johnson, Kolarov, Vieira.

Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)