West Bromwich Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
The HawthornsAttendance24,263.
Saturday 15 October 2016 14:01, UK
Tottenham will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they visit West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
This is first time Spurs have ever gone unbeaten in their opening seven Premier League games.
With Harry Kane sidelined, Son Heung-Min has led the attack and has been involved in eight goals in his last seven Premier League games (six goals, two assists).
West Brom have won just two of their last 16 Premier League games but a win against Spurs would give them their best start since 2012/13 when they took 14 points from their opening eight games.
West Brom will check on Salomon Rondon and Darren Fletcher ahead of Tottenham's visit.
The Venezuela striker only returned from international duty in South America on Thursday and Baggies boss Tony Pulis will assess him for fatigue, while midfielder Fletcher suffered a dead leg when he was away with Scotland and he too will be monitored.
If Rondon is not fit, Pulis must decide whether to give Hal Robson-Kanu his first start or play Saido Berahino against the club who made several attempts to buy him in successive transfer windows.
Meanwhile, Mousa Dembele is struggling with a foot injury for Spurs.
Dembele had just recovered from a hamstring strain when his left foot was stamped on in training and the Belgium international is now a doubt for this weekend's trip to the Hawthorns.
Kane remains sidelined with an ankle ligament injury while Son and Erik Lamela will be assessed following long excursions on international duty.
West Brom have registered just one win in their last 13 Premier League meetings with Tottenham drawing seven and losing five.
At the Hawthorns, the Baggies are without a league win in their last six top-flight games against Spurs, drawing three and losing three.
Forty-five per cent of the Premier League clashes between these two sides have ended level (9/20); only Everton versus Leicester (13/20, 65 per cent) has seen a higher proportion of draws (minimum 20 games).
Christian Eriksen has scored on two of his three visits to the Hawthorns in the league, although he failed to find the back of the net last time out.
This season, Eriksen has mustered 18 shots in the Premier League without scoring a single goal, more than any other player yet to find the back of the net.
Son has been involved in eight goals in his last seven league games (six goals, two assists).
Only in their title-winning 1960/61 campaign (21 points, assuming 3 points for a win) did Spurs make a better start to a top-flight league season than in this campaign (17 points from opening seven games).
Nacer Chadli has been involved in five of West Brom's last six Premier League goals (three goals, two assists).
Indeed, Chadli has scored three goals in four Premier League games for the Baggies, as many as in his previous 30 with Tottenham in the competition.
West Brom have posted the lowest passing accuracy rate in the top-flight this season (68 per cent), as well as attempting the fewest passes (2055).
Tottenham are playing very well at the moment and while the Man City result was brilliant, these are the types of games that win you Premier League titles.
If Kane got injured last season you couldn't see Spurs winning a game for toffee. Now it seems like nothing has changed despite his absence, which is a massive compliment to the other players.
West Brom have turned the corner but I have been majorly impressed by Tottenham.
PAUL PREDICTS: 0-3 (Sky Bet odds 12/1)
Tottenham are 3/4 favourites with Sky Bet for a victory at West Brom that could lift Mauricio Pochettino's side to the top of the Premier League table. Spurs have won their last four in the league conceding only one goal in the process and are 7/4 to win to nil here.
Tottenham are 8/1 fourth favourites for the league after their fine start, while West Brom - who have drawn their last two games 1-1 - are 19/5 outsiders for victory and 13/5 to earn a point.
West Brom v Spurs is included in this week's Soccer Saturday Super 6 line-up. Enter your predictions here for the chance to win £250,000.
