West Brom vs Crystal Palace preview, team news, kick-off time, live on Sky, prediction
West Brom defender Conor Townsend ruled out; Wilfried Zaha back for Crystal Palace; Watch West Brom vs Crystal Palace on Super Sunday from 11am on Sky Sports Premier League; kick-off 12pm
Friday 4 December 2020 15:57, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of West Brom vs Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday; kick-off 12pm.
Team news
West Brom defender Conor Townsend is out of Sunday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace as he faces up to six weeks on the sidelines.
The full-back limped out of last weekend's 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Sheffield United with a knee injury and although the damage is not as extensive as was first feared, he is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks.
Manager Slaven Bilic will make late decisions on deputy Kieran Gibbs and midfielder Jake Livermore, who have returned to training after testing positive for coronavirus.
Crystal Palace will be boosted by the return of Wilfried Zaha for their trip to The Hawthorns.
The attacker, who has scored five times this season, missed their defeats to Burnley and Newcastle after he recorded a positive Covid-19 test.
Roy Hodgson will be without Martin Kelly for the clash with the Baggies due to the defender having a calf injury while Wayne Hennessey (thigh), Nathan Ferguson (knee) and Connor Wickham (thigh) remain sidelined.
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How to follow
West Brom vs Crystal Palace will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League from 11am on Sunday; kick-off at 12pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
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Live Renault Super Sunday
Jones Knows' prediction
Even Slaven Bilic looked apologetic when shaking Chris Wilder's hand last weekend as West Brom broke their winless run. How they survived with a clean sheet despite conceding an xG figure of 3.37 is a mystery wrapped in a riddle. I'll never work that one out.
Despite a much-needed three points, the Baggies still remain statistically the worst team in the Premier League. The 'expected goals scored' model has them bottom of the pile with a return of just 5.93 xG from their 10 games as does their 'expected goals against' figure of 20.53 - that's 4.3 more than any other side. Results eventually catch up with this type of performance data and Bilic will do well to keep their heads above water.
With Fulham improving and Sheffield United bound to turn performances into results at some stage, the 11/4 for West Brom to finish bottom remains an investment to seriously consider. I'm happy to take them on this weekend with reliable travellers Palace, who are playing with slightly more adventure this season and the return of Wilfried Zaha is an obvious but important factor.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-2 (17/2 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
- West Brom have lost just one of their six Premier League home games against Crystal Palace (W2 D3), going down 0-2 in March 2017.
- In all competitions, Crystal Palace are unbeaten in four meetings with West Brom (W3 D1), keeping a clean sheet each time.
- West Bromwich Albion earned their first Premier League victory of the season last time out against Sheffield United - the Baggies last won back-to-back Premier League games in May 2018, while they last won consecutive home top-flight games in February 2017 (a run of four).
- West Bromwich Albion have the lowest expected goals total so far in the Premier League this season (5.9); indeed, 43% of their goals have come from outside the box, the highest ratio in the competition in 2020-21 (3/7).
- No side has scored fewer second half goals than West Brom in the Premier League this season (2), with a league-high 71% of the Baggies' goals this term coming before half-time (5/7).
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This week on the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast, Jamie Redknapp joins Peter Smith and Adam Bate to look ahead to the north London derby and assess Tottenham and Arsenal's contrasting form.
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