With the heat on West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Bruce, the team will want to bounce back from the international break with a victory on Saturday against Swansea City.
The hosts are just one place and one goal above the Championship’s relegation zone after ten games, with their opponents having jumped them with a win just before halftime.
Our Match Preview: West Bromwich Albion Vs Swansea City
West Bromwich Albion has started the Championship season slowly under Steve Bruce, with only 10 points in 10 games and one victory.
The Baggies beat Hull City at home in August, but they have since drawn with Huddersfield, Wigan, and Burnley.
Bruce’s men subsequently fell to Birmingham City, despite a late Brandon Thomas-Asante penalty, as Scott Hogan’s hat-trick put the visitors up 3-1.
In their penultimate game before the break, the Midlands side traveled to Norwich City and earned a point when Dara O’Shea’s opener was cancelled out by Sam Byram.
Other results, however, dropped them to 21st place, with the Baggies only leading Middlesbrough on goal difference. With Bruce’s job under threat, he’ll be keen for a second league victory to put his team ahead.
Swansea City lost to Luton Town and Middlesbrough and drew with Stoke City in their first seven Championship games.
Russell Martin’s team returned to winning ways with Joel Piroe’s lone goal against Queens Park Rangers, but Reda Khadra’s 94th-minute strike for Sheffield United ended their run.
Hoping to bounce back, the Swans took on Hull City before the international break and won 3-0 with goals from Ryan Manning, Luke Cundle, and Piroe.
The domestic break may have prevented Swansea from swiftly establishing momentum on their better performance, but they have risen to 16th and will look for a second straight three-point haul to extend their ascent.
Our Team News: West Bromwich Albion Vs Swansea City
West Bromwich Albion striker Daryl Dike is still out with an injury, therefore summer acquisition Brandon
Thomas-Asante, who got his first start against Norwich after scoring in both of his substitute appearances after making the club from Salford City, may once again start in place of Karlan Grant.
Despite Bruce’s insistence on a 4-2-3-1 formation, John Swift will play in the hole, while Grady Diangana and Jed Wallace will provide a danger from the flanks, so the lone striker won’t be alone.
Back in the middle, Okay Yokuslu might reclaim his starting spot alongside Jayson Molumby, while Erik Pieters, who replaced the injured Semi Ajayi before the international break, could reunite with Dara O’Shea in the back line.
Joel Piroe will be the focal point of the attack for Swansea City. Piroe has regained his scoring touch in recent games, scoring four goals in the previous five contests after tallying 22 in the second division last season.
Early in the season, Michael Obafemi and Olivier Ntcham played on either side of him, but by midseason, the coaching staff opted to play Jay Fulton and Oli Cooper in more advanced positions to assist the Dutch striker.
With Matt Grimes and Joe Allen unlikely to be swapped out in the engine room, Luke Cundle may also have his sights set on one of those positions,
While Harry Darling will look to re-enter the defensive line after Nathan Wood, Kyle Naughton, and Ben Cabango were favored in the Swans’ most recent game.
- West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup: Button, Furlong, O’Shea, Pieters, Townsend, Yokuslu, Molumby; Wallace, Swift, Diangana, Thomas-Asante.
- Swansea City possible starting lineup: Fisher; Cabango, Naughton, Darling, Sorinola, Allen, Grimes, Manning; Fulton, Cundle, Piroe.
Our Prediction: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Swansea City
West Bromwich Albion will consider it important to get a win at home against Swansea on Saturday, but they have only won once this season.
As a consequence, we do not expect them to win big against the Swans. On the contrary, Martin’s squad managed to fend off a Baggies team that has been struggling of late, and they took a point back to south Wales.