West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United have failed to impress too many this season, with both teams in the bottom half of the league so far, and both sides come into this game off the back of 1-0 losses.
West Brom were beaten by Swansea City, who are still searching for Garry Monk’s replacement, and Newcastle were given a harsh late 1-0 defeat at the hands of the in form Everton.
Excitement
Despite this particular fixture not seeming very mouth-watering on paper, the two sides have players within their ranks who can certainly provide the viewers with exciting football.
Newcastle have threats from all over the pitch when they are on their day. Unfortunately for the travelling fans though, the Toon Army are very rarely on their day.
Moussa Sissoko has shown that he can be a dominant player to play against, this season he has been played predominantly on the right hand side of Steve McClaren’s attack and has showed pace and power with the ability to distribute inviting deliveries for his teammates into the box.
Ayoze Perez was one of the few shining stars from last year’s near relegation campaign for Newcastle. The young Spaniard has shown that he possesses a deft touch and a keen eye for goal. There is potential for a partnership with Aleksandar Mitrovic in the years to come for the Magpies.
Mitrovic himself can be exciting. The 21-year old has not enjoyed the greatest start to life at St James’ Park. He has three goals for the club this year in the league, but has caught the eye of the Newcastle supporters with his strength, aggression and ‘old fashioned number nine’ style of play that is so popular in the North East.
Probably the best signing Newcastle made in the summer was Georginio Wijnaldum. The Dutch international has been a player that Newcastle could rely on as an attacking threat. Wijnaldum himself joined an illustrious list of Premier League players to score four goals in one game when the team destroyed Norwich City 6-2 earlier in the season - a list of names containing the likes of Sergio Agüero, Michael Owen and Thierry Henry.
West Brom’s squad doesn’t seem to have quite the excitement within their ranks as Newcastle, but it does have the potential to produce moments of real flair.
James Morrison has been playing for West Brom for seven years now and the Scottish international has shown this season that he is still a potent source of attacking quality for the Baggies. Scoring three goals and creating two more for his teammates has shown that he can be the man to make sure that Tony Pulis’s men are still scoring goals.
Saido Berahino may be given his first chance to start for West Brom since October too. With Salomon Rondon serving a three match suspension, the England under-21 international has the chance to show the Albion supporters that he still wants to perform for the club after his well-documented fall out with Chairman Jeremy Peace.
Goals, or perhaps lack of them
Victor Anichebe has scored five Premier League goals against Newcastle, more than he has scored against any other team, so it is certain that coming into this game that the Baggies striker will be relishing the opportunity to make it six.
Newcastle will be hoping to take advantage of West Brom’s poor defensive record at home however. It is odd to think that a Pulis led side could have conceded 16 goals in their nine matches at home, yet it appears anything can happen in football as Albion do have the worst defensive home record in the league so far.
Despite this, Newcastle have failed to score in nine of their matches so far this campaign, and with no one in the West Brom side scoring more than three goals this year, perhaps this game may have a distinct lack of goals.
Ill discipline
This is a top two fixture in regards to the discipline chart. West Brom top the discipline charts this year, already having 44 cautions within their squad, and three dismissals - two of which came last week against Bournemouth. Newcastle come into this game second on that list, they boast 38 cautions and also have had three dismissals.
Despite potentially not having the best chance of producing a high scoring affair, this match is certain to have some feisty challenges, and a good chance for the supporters to see Premier League tough tackling at its finest.
