Football Results

Last placed West Bromwich meets 17th-placed Huddersfield in the second match of the 28th round of English Premier League between struggling teams, where the latter has seven points more at the moment. Both teams were eliminated last weekend from the FA Cup, while their match played last autumn had ended as Huddersfield victory of 1-0.

West Bromwich

We have said in the introduction that last placed West Bromwich has even 7 points fewer than 17th-placed Huddersfield ahead of their head-to-head, and that implies that the home team has imperative to win as in case of failure it might come into hapless situation. On top of it, manager Pardew players had lost three Premier League matches in a row, and were eliminated in the meantime from the FA Cup by Southampton. All this implies that atmosphere in the locker room is very gloomy.

However, exactly in this situation a true sportsman must show his strength, which everyone in West Bromwich fully understands, and it is quite realistic to expect that they start offensively from the first minute of match with Huddersfield, especially as this team is one of direct competitors in the survival race. Regarding problems with absence, due to injuries still out of action are midfielders Livermore and Morrison, and forwards Sturridge, Chadli and Robson-Kanu.

Probable lineups West Bromwich: Foster – Dawson, Hegazy, Evans, Gibbs – Phillips, Krychowiak, Barry, Brunt – Rondon, Rodriguez

Huddersfield

All what we have said to expect now from West Bromwich, Huddersfield did in previous round when it played maximally aggressively and won Bournemouth at home by 4-1. Three new points allowed Huddersfield to escape the drop zone and at the same time the victory put an end to five-game losing streak in the league. True, Huddersfield was eliminated from the FA Cup in the meantime after home defeat by Manchester United, but that is perhaps a good thing for them as they can fully focus now on the survival struggle in the Premier League.

It is fact that despite victory over Bournemouth Huddersfield has just one point more than teams in the drop zone, just like Crystal Palace and Swansea, and they have to be maximally focused in continuation of championship if they what to stay in the first division. Compared to the FA Cup match, defenders Smith and Malone, and midfielder Pritchard are back in the starting line-up, while defenders Lowe, Hefele and Stankovic, midfielder Mooy and forward Kachunga should pause the match due to injuries.

Probable lineups Huddersfield: Lossl – Smith, Zanka, Schindler, Malone – Hogg, Billing – Ince, Pritchard, van La Parra – Mounie

Verdict:

We have said in our analysis that everything but victory would put West Bromwich into a hapless situation in regard to staying in the Premier League, which is why we believe that experienced manager Pardew will finally manage to find the winning combination, especially as his team faces one of worst away teams in the league.

Pick:  West Bromwich wins 2.02 - 102/100 @1XBet