West Bromwich Albion FC
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
West Brom take on Wolves with the chance to go above Fulham though little hope of survival
West Brom 1-1 Wolves
There’s little doubt that Sam Allardyce has improved West Brom, as he was brought in to do, however just not to the extent required to get them out of the hole that represents relegation.
Under Allardyce, the Baggies have picked up 18 points from his 20 league games since taking over, compared with just seven under Bilic earlier in the season.
With almost no hope of surviving this season, West Brom will want to play for pride in their remaining five matches. They secured the first win of Allardyce’s reign against Wolves back in January, and will be eyeing a repeat of that.
As for Wolves, there is little left for them to play for in what has been a largely disappointing season compared with campaigns gone by.
Until recently, they had been enjoying a brief patch of good form with back-to-back victories, until being on the receiving end of a thrashing at the hands of Burnley last weekend. Will they be tighter here?
Form Guide (all comps): LWWLD
Reasons to be cheerful:
Won the earlier fixture between these two
Have enjoyed better form than Wolves recently
Reasons to be fearful:
The gap to safety is now 11 points
Wolves will be determined to improve after last weekend
West Brom haven’t yet been officially relegated – there are 15 points to play for with an 11-point gap to safety – however there is little hope of a revival from a side who have secured just five wins all season.
They were close to picking up another victory last weekend, leading Aston Villa until the 92nd minute before conceding and having to settle for a point. The Baggies have also secured two wins recently, thrashing Chelsea 5-2 as well as Southampton the week after.
These victories have extended West Brom’s time as a Premier League side, though it seems as though relegation is now inevitable.
They achieved an entertaining 3-2 victory over Wolves earlier in the season, and they’ll be hoping for more of the same here.
Star Man – Matheus Pereira
Pereira scored his 10th goal of the season against Villa last weekend, and has been a regular source of goals for the club this season.
Form Guide (all comps): LLWWL
Reasons to be cheerful:
Moutinho should shake off injury to play, as should Semedo
Several key players remain missing
Reasons to be fearful:
Have lost seven of their 16 away games this season
Last week’s thrashing was unlike Wolves
Wolves have suffered through a poor season for several reasons, one of which of course has been the loss of Raul Jimenez with a head injury, as well as the failure to bring in a successful replacement to Liverpool-bound Diogo Joto.
Despite that, there seems to have been small drops in performance levels across the pitch, leading to fewer goals scored and greater numbers conceded.
They have a poor record away from home too, winning just five of their 16 games on their travels this season. The Wanderers secured a 1-0 victory over Fulham in their last away game, but can they continue that here?
Star Man – Adama Traore
Has been more effective in the final third in recent weeks.
A game with little for either side to play for
Unlikely to see the high scoring game of earlier in the season
Neither side have great quality up fron
We were treated to perhaps one of the surprise clashes of the season, with West Brom beating Wolves 3-2 back in January.
With the form of both of these sides, as well as the fact that neither can really improve their position in the league, could mean that there isn’t much to choose between the teams here.
West Brom 1-1 Wolves
