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West Brom vs Everton – Premier League Match Preview

It has not only been a bleak mid-winter for Alan Pardew in his short stint at West Brom manager but it also fair to say that it has been a particularly bleak season for the Baggies as they are now without a Premier League win in their last 17 attempts.

There is no doubting that this run of results has been nothing short of poor but the fact that it has already cost Tony Pulis his job and there has been nothing in the way of a new manager lift with the arrival of Pardew can only be a concern to all involved with the club.

The same however cannot be said when you look at Everton, since they rolled the dice and sacked Ronald Koeman they are finally finding their feet. Not only that thought but they soaring up the table after the arrival of one time England boss Sam Allardyce.

With Pardew yet to pick up a win since becoming manager of West Brom the opposite can only be said about Allardyce who has yet to taste defeat while in the Goodison hotseat. Could today be the day where the two streaks are finally broken.

West Brom fans would have been hopeful if not confident that their first win since August was going to arrive last weekend when they made the short journey to Stoke to face an under pressure Mark Hughes whose side were hovering precariously near the relegation zone.

It was perhaps not quite worthy of six-pointer status this early in the campaign but there was no doubting that it was a must win game for both sides, while it be Stoke who would earn the Christmas cheer thanks to a 3-1 win at the Bet365 Stadium.

Defeat for West Brom meant that they have picked up just two points from a possible 15 since Alan Pardew stepped into the Hawthorns hot seat. It is a run of results that almost makes you wonder if the grass was greener on the other side under stewardship of Tony Pulis.

At Everton though the transformation has been night and day as unsurprisingly Sam Allardyce has looked to the back line as the platform on which to build on, as obvious as it may be if you don’t concede goals you cannot lose games.

That mantra was typified perfectly on Saturday when Everton withstood a barrage of Chelsea pressure to earn a point at Goodison Park. The Toffees may not have had a shot on target during the game but it was a rare occasion when Everton fans could have few complaints at the lack of attacking attempts.

It was a textbook Allardyce team performance as Chelsea had 25 attempts but were ultimately successful with none, a well earned point for the Merseysiders as they currently find themselves ninth in the table and four points clear of Watford. The irony being that Hornets boss Marco Silva was courted for the vacancy of Everton manager for quite a while.

But it would be unfair to say that Everton are simply draw merchants under Sam Allardyce, they have won three of the five games played under the stewardship of Big Sam and if you look at the past six games they have the second  best form in the Premier League with 14 points from a possible 18.

Not only that but the Everton hierarchy will still fancy their chances of salvaging something from this season in the way of a 7th place finish. It may not quite be the desired outcome after spending all that money to ultimately stand still but after the start they had they will be more than happy with that.

To bridge the gap to 7th place they are going to have to pick up maximum points this afternoon and I have a feeling that they will make it a not so happy 18th for West Brom as their search for a win continues. I reckon the battle of the English bosses will be won by Allardyce as Everton pick up all three points.

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