West Brom v Huddersfield
Date: 24/02/18
K/O: 15:00pm
Venue: The Hawthorns
Saturday’s game at The Hawthorns has now become a must win game for West Brom – the gap of seven points which separates them from safety will surely be in the back of each and every one of the players minds, including the manager, Alan Pardew.
West Brom come into this game after a 2-1 FA Cup defeat against Southampton, and will look to this game to get them back on track. If they manage to pick up points this weekend it will give then a huge boost going into the coming games, with three favourable upcoming fixtures including Watford, Leicester and Bournemouth.
However the pressure is building on one man in particular, Alan Pardew. There is a very strong chance that this weekend he could lose his job, depending on the result. Pressure is pilling in on him from not only supporters, of which the majority didn’t really want him anyway, but also from higher up. The clubs owners are suspected to be rather unhappy, not only with the poor results but with the bad publicity created on the recent training camp trip to Barcelona. Considering events both on and off the field, this weekend’s game is in fact West Brom’s biggest so far.
Huddersfield Town, who have only won two away games this season (out of 13), travel to The Hawthorns in good form, despite exiting the FA Cup to Manchester United after a 2-0 loss midweek. Last time out in the Premier League, Huddersfield swept away Bournemouth in a 4-1 demolition at the John Smith Stadium, and therefore arrive in strong form for the clash against the Baggies.
Team News:
West Brom:
West Brom will welcome back Nacer Chadli, James Morrison, Kieran Gibbs and Jake Livermore after they were ruled out through injuries or illnesses. However it is likely that Daniel Sturridge will miss the game with a hamstring strain that he sustained against Chelsea. With that said, Salomon Rondon has been extremely impressive lately, so the Venezuelan will most likely start alongside Jay Rodriguez up front.
Huddersfield Town:
Huddersfield midfielder Alex Pritchard will return after being ineligible for the FA Cup game at Manchester United. Aaron Mooy is unavailable with an infected cut on his knee, but Michael Hefele has recovered from illness and Chris Lowe will hope to overcome injury in time for Saturday’s game.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat do the managers say?
Alan Pardew: “I think it’s important we answer the question marks against us in terms of professionalism…we haven’t really got a defense for all that until we win.
“We know at the end of the game on Saturday that if we haven’t won then it will be a difficult week again for us, and we don’t want another difficult week.
“No-one wants to play and work like this. We want to come in and work and smile and have a buzz about us and repay some of the faith our supporters have.”
David Wagner: “We are really playing for something and it’s great to be involved in. We will have the supporters behind us and we want to show the best performance we can.
“Win, lose or draw everyone sticks together; that’s our strength. The togetherness at this football club is special.”
Prediction:
This game could easily go either way, but given the home advantage and the situation they find themselves I’m backing West Brom to find some fight and win 2-0.
Written by Will Chattell.
