West Bromwich Albion vs Stoke City; Sky Bet Championship
West Bromwich Albion vs Stoke City. Sky Bet Championship.
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West Brom vs Stoke preview: Championship clash live on Sky Sports Football
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm on Monday; kick-off is at 8pm
Monday 20 January 2020 19:15, UK
West Brom face Stoke in the Sky Bet Championship on Monday night, live on Sky Sports Football.
Team news
West Brom have been boosted by the return of Nathan Ferguson. Ferguson had been missing with a knee injury but the young defender has returned to training and boss Slaven Bilic said he is in contention to play.
Grady Diangana is expected to start after returning as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Charlton following a back problem. Kieran Gibbs (hamstring) is the only first-team player still sidelined.
Live EFL
Stoke are hoping to add Blackpool midfielder Jordan Thompson to their squad in time for the match. Should the deal be completed, Michael O'Neill may be tempted to hand an early debut to a player he knows well from Northern Ireland.
Captain Ryan Shawcross remains sidelined with a calf problem. O'Neill has reported no other injury concerns ahead of the match.
Recent form
West Brom's lead at the top of the Championship has been cut in recent weeks, entirely through their own doing. They've not won any of their last five league outings, with the 1-0 FA Cup win over Charlton their sole victory since Christmas.
Meanwhile, Stoke's form is as inconsistent as ever. They drew 0-0 with former manager Gary Rowett's Millwall last time out and lost 1-0 to Brentford in the FA Cup a week earlier, a result which followed a 5-2 win away at Huddersfiled.
What the managers said...
West Brom's Slaven Bilic: "We are ready and concentrated on the game against Stoke. We want to get back to winning ways. It's not a desperation to get back to winning ways. It's more of a strong willingness. The game on Monday will not decide anything, make no mistake, but it is a very important game because we need the points and we want to stay at the top of league.
"When you are in this position you have to cope with the pressure and you have to embrace it. It's positive pressure. You're on top and you want to stay on top. To stay on top, it needs something exceptional. It requires top concentration, top defending, top attacking and top quality. We have done it so many times. There's no reason why we should stop it now."
Stoke's Michael O'Neill: "They are a very good side. They've been at the top of the division from, basically, day one. Possibly not in their best run of form but I think that's what happens in the Championship; teams have little lulls and they are possibly in that at the minute.
"Equally they'll see us as an opportunity to get moving again, but we see it as an opportunity - albeit a very difficult one - to add to the points tally that we have."
Talking point: Baggies feeling the pressure at the top?
For so many months this season, West Brom have looked untouchable. With Slaven Bilic at the helm, a well-stocked frontline that included starlets Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira, and only one defeat in their first 24 they were the team to beat.
But though December started well, a poor festive period - in which they drew three and lost one - saw them twice usurped by Leeds. A 2-2 draw with Charlton last time out was enough to see them back to the summit, following Leeds' defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, but with 19 games remaining, will they be able to regain their footing?
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Opta stats
West Brom have won their last three league games against Stoke, all in the Championship since the start of last season.
Stoke have won none of their last five away league matches against West Brom (D1 L4) since winning five in a row at the Hawthorns between 2009 and 2014.
West Brom have earned a league-high 21 points from losing positions in the Championship this season - Stoke have earned 13, the second-highest tally.
Stoke have already scored more away league goals under Michael O'Neill in six matches (11 goals) than they did in 17 under Nathan Jones (9).
West Brom have picked up just four points in their last five Championship games (W0 D4 L1), after collecting 22 in their previous eight matches (W7 D1 L0).
Stoke are looking to win consecutive away league games for the first time since October 2015 under Mark Hughes.
Prutton's prediction
West Brom will have to sit and watch all their promotion rivals all weekend before playing on Monday night, and that in itself could add a little pressure if that gap squeezes up again. They are without a win in five now.
Stoke are still in the thick of a relegation battle, but at least they are picking up points more consistently under Michael O'Neill. But I doubt they have enough to trouble the Baggies.
David Prutton predicts: 3-1 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
