Prediction: West Bromwich vs Swansea



Verdict: Swansea Draw no bet

Best Odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: William Hill

Sitting 10 points adrift of safety with eight games to go, West Bromwich could be effectively relegated if they fail to defeat struggling Swansea City on Saturday afternoon. The Swans are now three points clear of the bottom three and a win over out-of-sorts Baggies could go a long way towards securing Premier League survival.

West Bromwich

Ever since they returned to the Premier League back in 2010, West Bromwich managed to establish themselves as genuine mid table side, finishing in top 10 on three of last seven occasions and only once being in serious danger of getting relegated. However, the club’s run of eight consecutive Premiership campaigns look set to end this year as the Baggies sit at rock bottom ahead of Gameweek 33.

What is more, West Bromwich are 10 points behind 17th-placed Crystal Palace after the costly defeat to Burnley, their night straight loss in all competitions. It is narrow defeats to direct relegation rivals that are likely to cost the Baggies Premier League survival, and we don’t think there is a lot interim manager Darren Moore can do after Alan Pardew was sacked from the post. The game against Swansea will feel like the final opportunity for the Hawthorns outfit to keep their survival hopes alive, but there are no doubts the hosts will be under a great deal of pressure.

Team News

Sam Field and James Morrison are both set to miss out, while Gareth Barry is unlikely to feature having failed to fully recover from injury.

Caretaker boss Darren Moore is, meanwhile, sweating over the fitness of Daniel Sturridge and Nacer Chadli.



Swansea

Having gone from League 2 to the Premier League in just seven years, Swansea City did really well to prove their worth in England’s top flight and they are now taking part in seventh successive Premiership campaign. The Swans spent the majority of the time in top half of the standings, and were never really in danger of getting relegated, that is until this year. Head coach Paul Clement was eventually sacked from the post as the team failed to impress in the first half of the season, with Carlos Carvahal taking over at the turn of the year.

The Portuguese coach brought instant improvement to Liberty Stadium as the Swans picked up 18 points from 11 league fixtures under his guidance, leaving the bottom three in the process. Swansea City have been on a somewhat of a downtrend of late, having failed to score in last three matches on all fronts, but they, nonetheless, appear to be the favourites to defeat struggling West Bromwich at the Hawthorns.

Team News

Jordan Ayew misses the game through suspension, whereas Wilfried Bony, Angel Rangel, Renato Sanches and Leroy Fer are out injured.

Key Factors to Consider

• West Brom lost last nine matches in all competitions
• The Baggies lost last five at home with both teams scoring in each of those
• Swansea failed to score in last three fixtures
• The Swans won three of last five meetings with West Brom (D1 L1)
• Swansea won 18 points in 11 league games since Carvahal took over

Conclusion

Even though West Bromwich have enough quality in their ranks to avoid the drop, the players are very low on confidence after nine straight defeats and they probably don’t believe the team can secure survival this term. Swansea, on the other hand, have done well under Carvahal and we are backing them to put the final nail in West Brom’s coffin.

Verdict: Swansea Draw no bet

Best Odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: William Hill