West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton
Date: 03/02/18
K/O: 15.00pm
Venue: The Hawthorns
West Brom host Southampton at the Hawthorns, in what could be the pivotal point for for the seasons of both Alan Pardew and Mauricio Pellegrino’s sides.
West Brom currently sitting last in the league with a mere 20 points could claw their way to be level on points with Southampton, if they win. Their last outing saw them lose 3-0 at the Etihad, to a rampant Manchester City – a tough fixture for any team.
This week however, they face a rather lacklustre Southampton, who are without a win in their last 12 games. This seems a must win for both teams seeing as there is just the one point separating 19th and 14th, and Huddersfield (17th) most likely to drop points away to Man United.
Embed from Getty ImagesTeam News:
West Brom captain Jonny Evans could return after a hamstring injury, while loan signing Daniel Sturridge may make his first start for the club. The signing of Daniel Sturridge should boost Albion’s firepower significantly but ex-Saint Jay Rodriguez is their man of the moment, scoring twice against Liverpool in the FA Cup last week – an interesting prospect if he fires in the winner against his former club.
Southampton’s record signing Guido Carrillo could be given his first start after making his Premier League debut as a substitute against Brighton. Saints attacker Manolo Gabbiadini is doubtful with a hip injury, whilst fellow striker Charlie Austin remains out also.
Managers thoughts:
Alan Pardew: “There’s a lot of pressure on this game. We have to keep the pressure up on the teams above us”
Embed from Getty Images“Winning on Saturday would create more momentum for us. It’s all very tight. All the clubs down the bottom will be looking at our game.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino: “Obviously the most difficult thing in modern football is how you can create more action to convert.
“This is the most difficult thing in modern football. Why? Because the level of organisation is really high and the information that every single opponent has got about you, it’s really high.
Prediction:
Southampton have the stronger squad, and look the most likely to get themselves out of the bottom three the quickest. However in this case i favor west Brom. Their recent performances have not been bad and show significant improvement from earlier stages of the season. With the signing of Sturridge and the momentous win against Liverpool, Im backing West Brom to clinch the valuable 3 points.
West Bromwich Albion 1 Southampton 0
Written by Will Chattell.
