Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
West Brom were the latest team to go up against the might of Chelsea last Sunday and like the other eight teams before them they came off on the losing side. Gareth McAuley was punished for taking too much time on the ball and with Diego Costa with the form he is in you can’t give him any extra opportunity in front of goal.
West Brom started last weekend in 7th but by the end of Week 15’s fixtures they had seen Watford who they had only just beaten the week before overtake them. That means Tony Pulis’ side start this round of fixtures in 8th at the time of writing but by the time you read this they may have dropped down to 9th should Everton pick up a point at Arsenal the night before.
Tonight West Brom play host to Swansea who earned themselves a vital win last Saturday. That being the relegation six pointer at home to Sunderland. A win that saw them move out of the drop zone for 24 hours before West Ham picked up a somewhat unlikely point against Liverpool at Anfield.
Fernando Llorente was again the hero on Saturday. After a relatively slow start to the season he has scored 4 times in the last three matches. A brace in that almost bizarre game against Crystal Palace was added to with a brace against Sunderland on Saturday.
That’s now also now back to back home wins for Swansea but they will have to certainly fare better when they go on the road and face West Brom at The Hawthorns this evening. Last time they were aware from South Wales they shipped 5 in an incredibly one sided game against Tottenham.
Not only was the win against Sunderland all important but the fact that they also earned a clean sheet would have been of considerable pleasure to Bob Bradley. Especially after conceding 9 goals in the two matches prior to the weekend.
Bradley has managed to pick up 7 points in his last four matches so there are signs that the rudderless ship is starting to somewhat change direction but there is still an incredible amount of work to be done. All Bradley can do is make sure Swansea aren’t cast too far adrift before the January transfer window opens.
But that is an issue that only can be rectified in a couple of weeks Tonight they have to worry about the task in front of them which is West Brom. Unfortunately thought what with Swansea’s away form being so patchy this season the advantage has to go with the home side.
Swansea have shipped 31 goals already this season, which is more than 2 a game and although West Brom aren’t necessarily known for their high scoring they can still do some damage when the mood takes them and I fancy that will be in the mood Tonight. I’m going to go for a home win.
