West Brom will be looking to bounce back from their 3-0 drubbing at Southampton as they take on Aston Villa at the Hawthorns.
The Midlands derby will be a huge game for both sides, the Baggies will be looking to climb further away from the danger and a win would see them move to 30 points. Tony Pulis will also be out for revenge as Villa knocked them out of the FA Cup and beat them in the Premier League in the same week last season.
Baggies are well clear of Villa
West Brom are 15 points ahead of Villa, who are rooted to the bottom of the table. Pulis’ men won’t want a repeat of last week’s display as they lost 3-0 at St.Mary’s and struggled to register one shot on target.
Villa, however, will probably be happy if they manage to repeat their performance from last week as they drew 1-1 at home to top-of-the-table Leicester City.
Pulis without key men
The hosts will be without several key players as they head into the derby. Jonas Olsson, Chris Brunt and Darren Fletcher are all set to miss the all in important clash. Long-term absentee James Morrison will also be missing as he faces up to 8-weeks on the sidelines with a ruptured hamstring.
West Brom played three away games in seven days and the gruelling fixture congestion during the festive season looks to have taken it’s toll.
Pulis said “We’re working very hard to get those players fit. The more games you play the more injuries you pick up. The squad will be tested, but we’ll see how we go. We’ll assess Brunt, but I don’t think he’ll be fit. I’m not sure Fletcher will be fit. We will be missing a few players with Morrison out as well. We could be a little be threadbare, but we’ll have a go.”
The Baggies lost Brunt 18 minutes into their midweek FA Cup replay as he limped off with a calf injury. However, James Chester, the £8million man from Hull City is ready to be called upon.
A win for the Baggies would mean a league-double over their rivals for the first time in 32 years, having won 1-0 away from home earlier on in the season. It would also help rid memories of last season, as Villa beat West Brom twice within a week under former boss Tim Sherwood.
