2021-22 Sky Bet Championship: Week 37 – Tuesday

West Bromwich Albion welcome Fulham to The Hawthorns in a huge clash in the race for promotion.

Victory would see Steve Bruce’s Baggies climb to 12th for at least 24 hours, whereas Fulham can open up a 15-point lead at the summit if Bournemouth lose elsewhere.

 

Team News

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Daryl Dike could return for West Brom after recovering from a hamstring injury, although he was left out of the squad for Friday’s 2-2 draw against Huddersfield as he continued to rebuild his match fitness.

Kean Bryan (knee) and Matt Phillips (foot) remain absent.

Fulham have no fresh injury concerns as Terence Kongolo remains absent with a knee injury.

 

Stat Attack

• West Brom are winless in their last 12 league meetings against Fulham (D7, L5).
• Fulham have dropped eight points in their last five visits to The Hawthorns (W1, D4).
• West Brom are unbeaten in five of six previous meetings against Fulham across all competitions held in the month of March (W4, D1, L1).
• Two of West Brom’s last four goals have been scored from the penalty spot, with both spot-kicks scored by Karlan Grant.
• Harry Wilson has provided three assists and two goals in Fulham’s last four matches.

 

Prediction

With their play-off hopes fading, West Brom delivered a decent effort against Huddersfield because despite two defensive blunders leaving them two goals down, they showed desire and urgency to fight back for a draw which is a positive step following their recent breakdown in confidence.

Fulham meanwhile were simply wasteful at Barnsley on Saturday despite their dominance and pace in attack, although their mixed variety of passes certainly look a real danger for any oppositional defence to handle if not solid.

With that in mind, West Brom simply can’t repeat their defensive mistakes if they’re to stand any chance of a result here because Fulham will be eager to get back on the winning trail, yet the Cottagers can afford to relax a bit given their huge lead over Bournemouth.

A draw therefore would be a decent result because I don’t see West Brom having enough to take the win if Fulham are at their best, yet the Baggies should have enough in them to dig out a point here.

Prediction: WBA 1-1 Fulham

Result: WBA 1-0 Fulham