Will West Brom’s negative trend continue?
West Brom have had some poor results in recent weeks and have dropped a lot of points. There is no talk of a connection to the upper regions of the table. Opponents Swansea, however, are not really playing a good season either and have problems.
That’s why it could be an interesting game. Ahead of the game, the odds show that the hosts are favourites going into the game. West Brom have more points on their account, an individual superiority could also be recognised, but the form does not necessarily speak in favour of the hosts.
In any case, West Brom don’t really have to look down anymore, the same is not true for Swansea yet, especially if another negative streak should follow. The game kicks off on Monday night at 9pm.
West Brom – Statistics & current form
The pre-season ambitions at West Brom were certainly high. With players like Johnstone, Ajayi, Bartley, Livermore, Diangana or Robinson they actually have a very good squad together. Instead of playing at the top, however, West Brom are currently in no-man’s land in the table and are showing a trend that is anything but good. On Tuesday, the team lost 2-1 at Middlesbrough, and the results crisis continues.
Steve Bruce, the team’s coach, has not yet been able to stabilise this team. He has been in charge since the beginning of February, and there has not been a win since then. In any case, West Brom only managed to win a game once in 2022. Until matchday 12, the team was almost always in one of the top three places. In the meantime, West Brom slipped significantly, winning only one of the last twelve must-win games.
Clearly, the squad is strong, the quality higher than that of the visitors, but West Brom often fails to get this quality on the pitch. The problems can be found in all parts of the team, offensively and defensively, individually and tactically.
West Brom’s problems are everywhere
Before highlighting the problems, it is worth taking a look at the home record. This is largely responsible for West Brom being the favourites here. With an average of two points per game and only one defeat, this record is quite respectable. In comparison, they have an average of 0.89 points away from home and ten defeats away from home.
With 35 goals in 33 games, the offensive is not exactly outstanding. Only one player has scored ten goals, but 30 goals conceded are still a solid record. However, the defence has also had increasing difficulties recently, as can be seen from the eight goals conceded in the last five league games.
There is simply a lack of balance. Good forward play combined with good defence has been hard to find in recent weeks. Therefore, before the West Brom vs Swansea game, our prediction is also that less than 2.5 goals will be scored in total.
Predicted West Brom line-up:
Johnstone – Furlong, Ayaji, Bartley, Townsend – Livermore, Mowatt, Diangana, Phillips – Grant, Robinson
Last matches played by West Brom:
Championship
02/22 2022 – Middlesboro 2 – 1 West Bromwich Albion
02/19 2022 – Luton 2 – 0 West Bromwich Albion
02/14 2022 – West Bromwich Albion 0 – 0 Blackburn
02/09 2022 – Sheffield United 2 – 0 West Bromwich Albion
01/29 2022 – Millwall 2 – 0 West Bromwich Albion
Swansea – Statistics & current form
With a few games in hand, Swansea are currently bobbing around in the lower midfield of the Championship. Most recently suffering a 4-0 defeat away at Sheffield United, the current situation is not good. Swansea have been struggling with the pandemic, have one or two injured players and don’t have a very broad squad at their disposal anyway. The Welsh side also lost four of their last six games.
Especially away from home, the performances were disappointing. Swansea failed to pick up a point from their last three games away from home, did not score a goal and conceded nine goals. That is clearly too much and a contributory reason for the poor position in the table. After all, there are a reassuring 15 points between them and the first relegation place. Swansea also benefit from the point deductions for Reading (6 points) and Derby (21 points).
Swansea want and need to improve
As with West Brom, Swansea’s problems can be found in all parts of the team. The team urgently needs to improve if they are to finish the season reasonably well. The aim is certainly to make up one or two places in the table. With the catch-up games in hand, that would be quite possible if the team improves.
However, 32 goals from 31 games is really not good value. Like West Brom, Swansea have only one player in Piore (12 goals) who really scores reliably. When he is cut off, the offense often lies fallow. 43 goals conceded on the other side are also significantly more than the hosts. Swansea not infrequently wobble under pressure, conceding 29 goals away from home alone.
In the end, it is difficult to name a clear favourite before this match. However, due to the offensive problems of both teams, our value tip ahead of the West Brom vs Swansea game is that neither team will score.
Predicted Swansea line-up:
Fisher – Manning, Cabango, Burns – Christie, Smith, Grimes, Dhanda – Ntcham, Paterson – Piroe
Last matches played by Swansea:
Championship
02/19 2022 – Sheffield United 4 – 0 Swansea
02/13 2022 – Swansea 3 – 1 Bristol City
02/08 2022 – Stoke 3 – 0 Swansea
02/05 2022 – Swansea 1 – 0 Blackburn
02/01 2022 – Swansea 0 – 1 Luton
West Brom – Swansea Direct comparison / H2H record
The direct comparison between these teams is almost even. West Brom are on 16 wins, Swansea currently have 17 wins to their name. The first leg ended 1-1, before that two duels went to the team from Wales. West Brom are narrowly ahead in goals scored with 69:63.
West Brom – Swansea Tip
West Brom and Swansea have several things in common. Both are playing below their potential and both have disappointed recently, especially offensively. The potential is there, but the teams are not getting it on the pitch.
Because both are putting up weak statistics offensively, our tip before the West Brom vs Swansea game is that this match will see less than 2.5 goals scored overall.
