Things are looking increasingly bleak as far as retaining the league championship is concerned for Manchester City, and last weekend’s shock away defeat to Burnley will also have Manuel Pellegrini glancing nervously over his shoulder as the chasing pack look to make up ground on second place.

Indeed, due to City’s recent failings, Arsenal have closed the gap to just one point, while city rivals Manchester United are only two points behind Pellegrini’s men – a situation that would have been deemed utterly absurd earlier in the season.

With Liverpool also hot on United’s heels, there is amazingly a possibility that the defending champions could find themselves out of the top four come the end of the season, in what would be a disastrous collapse for the Citizens. Ultimately, however, their fate is still very much in their own hands and with the talent they have at their disposal, missing out on the top four does seem unlikely; but finishing behind Arsenal and United is certainly possible if things don’t improve.

City’s run-in suggests they have a bit of a challenge on their hands as they still have to play United, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton between now and the end of the season, but finishing second should still be the absolute minimum requirement for such an expensively-assembled squad.

As for West Bromwich Albion, things are looking slightly rosier – albeit in very different circumstances. Since Tony Pulis replaced Alan Irvine, the club have looked like they are in safe hands and have successfully found a way to prevent a relegation which, at one stage, looked inevitable.

With the Baggies on 33 points, they only need seven points from their last nine games to reach the magic 40 point mark, and with home ties against QPR and Leicester to come, it should be in the bag.

This game, however, may be one that Albion fans have to take on the chin, as it’s hard to see past City going into ‘wounded animal’ mode and bouncing back from last week’s disappointing defeat. The market clearly doesn’t fancy West Brom’s chances much either, as the best you’ll get on them winning are 10/1. City, on the other hand, are available to win at odds as meagre as 6/17.

With such a short price, it’s not really worth betting on City to win outright, but the other markets do offer some respite. City to win by a 3-0 scoreline can be had at 17/2, while the Mancunians to win by three or more goals is priced at 9/4. Diminutive Argentine, Sergio Aguero, is on a minor drought having not scored in his last three league games, but he is priced at 3/1 to open the scoring, while by contrast, West Brom’s Saido Berahino is 11/1 to strike first and 10/3 to find the net at any point.