by It was a sobering night for West Bromwich Albion fans when they visited Bramall Lane on Wednesday night. A win would have lifted the Baggies from ninth place into the play-offs, but they didn’t and their 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United ensured Sunderland, who themselves had defeated West Brom last weekend, held on to that all-important sixth place. ranking position. If West Brom fail to reach the play-offs, which now looks likely, they would have only themselves to blame for failing to win any of their last three home games. Draws against promotion rivals Millwall and relegation candidates QPR dashed their hopes before the aforementioned 2-1 home defeat to Sunderland.
Manager Carlos Corberan will point to an element of bad luck in these results and would have a case considering West Brom created 3.10xG compared to Sunderland’s 0.83xG last time out.
Recommended bet: West Bromwich Albion win
Matches are dense and fast paced in the second tier of English football which means responding quickly is imperative and West Brom will have that opportunity as Norwich City visit the Hawthorns on Saturday night in what is a must-match for both sides. Norwich themselves have turned their fortunes around after a disappointing first half of the campaign, and now still have a slim chance of reaching the play-offs, although it depends on many other results. One thing David Wagner’s side need to do is win their remaining two games and that starts at the Hawthorns, before they host Blackpool who could very well already be relegated before their final day clash. When these two sides met in September at Carrow Road, the match ended in a 1-1 draw with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances. Centre-back Dara O’Shea gave West Brom the lead before full-back Sam Byram’s second-half strike scored a point for the Canaries. Offensive players on both sides will be hoping to have more effect in this matchup, although another cautious affair is very likely ahead, especially in the early periods, considering what is at stake. If either side loses, the season is over, while a draw would do no good to either side’s chances of promotion. A betting angle worth exploiting if the circumstances suit, would be to draw or bet on another goal if these two teams cannot be separated in the final 20 minutes. Sam McCallum was sent off for Norwich last weekend in the 3-0 defeat against Swansea, so he will be suspended for this match. West Brom are likely to recall John Swift to the starting lineup as they look for more creativity than they have produced at Bramall Lane. Despite their poor home form, the Baggies should emerge winners in this one with the fans fully behind them in a rocking Hawthorns. We can expect a closely contested contest with few goals ending with West Brom keeping alive their slim playoff hopes. Recommended bet: West Bromwich Albion win
The article EFL Championship preview and tip: West Bromwich Albion host Norwich City in must-win match first appeared on Planetsport.com.
