West Bromwich Albion host Southampton tonight under the lights at The Hawthorns as both sides continue their push for promotion back to the Premier League.
The Baggies have been on a decent run of form in recent weeks, picking up three victories across their previous five outings in the Championship, including a comfortable 2-0 win over Cardiff City in midweek thanks to a debut goal from Mikey Johnston and another from Andi Weimann late in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Saints are coming into this match off the back of their first loss since September. Previously, Russell Martin’s side had been on a 25-game unbeaten streak and even managed to knock Ipswich Town out of the automatic promotion places. However, Leeds United have since taken second spot after Southampton’s blip at Bristol City on Tuesday night.
These two sides met for the first time since 2021 back in November at the St. Mary’s Stadium. The Baggies came away broken-hearted after Adam Armstrong scored with little over ten minutes remaining to clinch the three points for Southampton.
The boss on tonight's encounter. 💬 pic.twitter.com/CD5czraBhP
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) February 16, 2024
Nevertheless, one pundit believes that West Bromwich Albion will get revenge on the Saints tonight with a 2-1 win on their own turf. Writing in his EFL predictions column for Sky Sports, David Prutton said:
“It has been a decent week for West Brom so far, even if they’d have been disappointed not to have held on for the win at Ipswich on Saturday. They are still well-placed in the race for the play-offs as well.
“Southampton’s response to that defeat in midweek will be fascinating. They threatened it at the weekend but bounced back to beat Huddersfield in remarkable fashion. Now they need to rally or Leeds could race away with second. I have a feeling they could slip again.”
A win for West Brom would bring Carlos Corberan’s side within nine points of this evening’s opposition ahead of some difficult fixtures against Plymouth Argyle, Hull City and Coventry City.
Writer’s View
Away from home, West Bromwich Albion have one of the worst records in the Championship, picking up just 16 points from a possible 45 on the road. However, Corberan’s men have the third-highest number of points at home this term.
Knowing this, the Baggies will be confident they can be only the sixth team to put Southampton to the sword, but it certainly won’t be easy, especially if the visitors have Flynn Downes and Che Adams back in the squad.
Deputy Head of Writing
