Premier League preview: West Brom v Blackburn

West Bromwich Albion will head into their clash with Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday without the services of suspended winger Chris Brunt.

Brunt, arguably West Brom’s most influential player this season, picked up his fifth yellow card in the Baggies’ 2-0 loss at Bolton on Sunday and will serve an automatic one-game ban.

The Northern Irishman leads the league in assists this term, and his suspension is a significant loss for Roberto Di Matteo’s side.

Di Matteo’s selection woes could be further compounded by the likely absence of Jerome Thomas, with the winger struggling to overcome the bout of illness that ruled him out of Sunday’s match at the Reebok Stadium.

West Brom fell to 12th on the league table with 22 points on the back of their second straight loss, three points clear of 16th-placed Wigan Athletic and equal with Newcastle United in ninth.

Di Matteo acknowledged his players would struggle to bounce back after the defeat at Bolton, but said he hoped home advantage would get his charges across the line.

“It’s going to be hard for the players,” the Baggies boss said on Sunday.

“To fully recover in the space of 48 hours will be impossible. But every club is in the same boat.”

“We just have to do our best, try and raise ourselves for Tuesday and take advantage of our home ground and the backing of our supporters.”

Blackburn are 13th on the table with 22 points, and in the same mid-table cram as West Brom.

Their visit to The Hawthorns marks their first away match since the shock axing of Sam Allardyce, and the first match since Christopher Samba was stripped of the captain’s armband by new boss Steve Kean.

Samba did not play in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Stoke City due to an ankle injury but would have been demoted in any case after expressing his desire to leave Ewood Park.

The French-born Congolese centre-back is a chance to travel to The Hawthorns, where the Rovers have not won in eight years.

Blackburn have also lost five of their last six on the road, but defender Martin Olsson said the mood at the Ewood Park is still positive ahead of Tuesday’s game.

“It does not matter where we play, we just need to play our football and get three points,” Olsson told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“If we just get a win we will relax more, but this period is very hard and it puts a lot of pressure on a lot of us and that is why we are making mistakes.”

“It is coming slowly. There are still lots of games left. The league is still tight and with a win or two we will be up there again.”