West Brom V Man City at The Hawthorns : Match Preview

Foster driven by fear of failure Goalkeeper Ben Foster admits he is driven on by the memory of his worst moment in football as he looks to ensure West Brom survive in the Barclays Premier League for a third successive season. Foster was part of the Birmingham team relegated from the top flight at the end of last season, three months after winning the Carling Cup. He joined Albion on loan last summer and suffered three successive defeats at the start of the current campaign. But since then Foster has helped the Baggies steadily climb the table and they will go into Monday's home clash with leaders Manchester City lying in 10th position. Foster said: "I would like to think I've always given my best and that includes all the games at Birmingham where we ended up going down. "But going down again is something to avoid. I'd rather not have that on my record to be honest. Being relegated with Birmingham was the worst thing I've experienced. "We had half an hour of the season to go and we were safe. All of a sudden we weren't. It was a terrible feeling. I don't think the lads here need me to tell them how bad it is." Foster admits he is unsure where his long-term future lies, but knows he wants to remain in the Premier League. "I honestly don't know what is happening to me," he added. "All I know is that it is a season-long loan. There's no other agreements been made. I want to stay in the top flight. "I've been fortunate to play in the Premier League for four or five seasons and that's where you want to be." The Baggies will be full of confidence after consecutive away wins over Blackburn and Newcastle. But Foster added: "We know we have been playing well and it's been a case of just waiting for it all to come together. "It would be nice if we could get to a really comfortable position. It's never nice if you have to play games that are considered to be six-pointers. "Everyone gets a bit edgy when it's all about who gets the three points." James Morrison is expected to have recovered from the hamstring injury which forced him to miss the 3-2 win at Newcastle in midweek. But doubts remain over whether full-back Steven Reid (ankle), midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu (groin) and winger Jerome Thomas (ankle) will be in contention. City manager Roberto Mancini believes Sergio Aguero can hit the 30-goal mark this season. Signed in the summer for a club record #38million, Aguero has taken no time to adjust to Premier League life. The Argentina star bagged two more goals in Wednesday night's win over Stoke to take his overall tally to 15, 13 of which have come during City's surge to the Premier League summit. However, Mancini doesn't want the 23-year-old former Atletico Madrid man to stop now. With Manchester United just two points adrift of their neighbours heading into the Christmas programme, Mancini wants Aguero to lead City's striking team to even greater achievements. "I hope Sergio can score 30 goals," said the Blues boss. "It is the same for Edin (Dzeko) and Mario (Balotelli). If they scored 50 goals between them it would be good for us." Although it was generally acknowledged across Europe that Aguero was a player of exceptional talent, he could hardly have been expected to open his City career in such prolific fashion. He joined the club at the end of July, when he came off the back of an arduous and unsuccessful Copa America campaign with Argentina. Normally, players who have taken part in the South American championship either start slowly due to their lack of a pre-season programme, or flag after a couple of months because of tiredness. Aguero has so far avoided both problems. "Sergio is very strong physically," said Mancini. "He is not tall but his strength is amazing. "Also, he has always scored goals in every championship. For this reason I don't think he has had any problems. "He is still only young and maybe now his value is even more because he has scored 15 goals in three or four months. "He has the confidence to score even more but what is important at the moment is that he has improved our team." Edin Dzeko (ankle) and Micah Richards (calf) are injury concerns for City.

West Brom V Man City - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.

Source: PA

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