West Bromwich Albion FC vs Crystal Palace, Premier League 2020-2021, Today Match Prediction

West Bromwich Albion FC vs Crystal Palace Match Prediction & Analysis

Understandably, West Brom fans won’t be getting too carried away with their first win of the season against bottom club Sheffield United last weekend.

There is a long way to go to ensure safety, and largely they have not appeared up to the standard required so far this season.

Having said that, all good form must start somewhere, so they will be hoping that they can continue picking up points against a Crystal Palace side who have struggled to get any kind of run going themselves of late.

In fact, The Eagles have similar form over their past five matches, three of which have been defeats. They have really missed their talisman, Wilf Zaha, and have struggled in front of goal as a result.

This is a fixture that could go either way, but both sides will be desperate to not lose for a fourth time in five matches.

TEAMS PREVIEW

West Bromwich Albion FC Preview

Form Guide (all comps): DLLLW

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Win last weekend will give them great confidence

     Will welcome back Livermore and Gibbs after Covid-19

Reasons to be fearful:

     Manchester City and Liverpool follow within next few weeks

     Have the second worst defensive record in the league

If you look at the stats, West Brom are certainly heading in a better direction of late.

Four of their six points have been earned from their last five matches, with their defensive record considerably improved over that period as well – only four goals conceded in their last four matches versus 14 in the six matches previous.

Veteran defender Branislav Ivanovic has been a significant help in that respect, using his wisdom gained from years at Chelsea to guide the more inexperienced players alongside him. 

They will also be able to welcome back Jake Livermore and Kieran Gibbs into the side after both tested positive for Coronavirus recently.

The Baggies won their previous fixture last weekend, however may be happy enough to settle for a draw this time around. Depending on how badly Fulham are beaten by Manchester City, a point may be enough to lift West Brom out of the bottom three.

Star Man – Conor Gallagher

Has shown good form of late, and scored the winner last weekend, so should keep his place in midfield.

Crystal Palace Preview

Form Guide (all comps): WLWLL

Reasons to be cheerful

     Wilf Zaha could be fit to play a part

     Unbeaten in last four matches against West Brom

Reasons to be fearful 

     Lost back to back away matches without scoring

     Have Tottenham, Liverpool and Leicester all coming up

Crystal Palace are facing the same old problems that have plagued them for many seasons now – they are too good to go down, but not good enough to challenge for higher positions in the table.

Wilf Zaha’s absence has not helped matters, though he could be fit enough to play a part in this one, albeit perhaps from the bench. Nevertheless, they have struggled to create too many chances of late, scoring in just one of their last four matches recently.

Michi Batshuayi is getting plenty of game time for Palace this season, but is not repaying them with goals – none so far in eight appearances.

Similar to their opponents, they have a tough run of fixtures coming up, but they’ll be very wary of losing for a fourth time in five matches.

Star Man – Jordan Ayew

Is livelier up front than Batshuayi and can be a handful for defenders.