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West Brom logo
Premier League | Gameweek 11
Dec 6, 2020 at 12pm UK
The Hawthorns
Crystal Palace logo

West Brom
1 - 5
Crystal Palace

Gallagher (30')
Sawyers (17'), Gallagher (58')
Pereira (34')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Furlong (8' og.), Zaha (55', 68'), Benteke (59', 82')
McArthur (50'), Milivojevic (88')

Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs. Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Premier League clash between West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

West Bromwich Albion will be looking to build on their first Premier League win of the campaign when they welcome Crystal Palace to The Hawthorns on Sunday.

The Baggies ended their winless run with a 1-0 victory at fellow strugglers Sheffield United, but they remain inside the relegation zone heading into the weekend.

Palace have lost back-to-back matches to slip down to 15th, meanwhile, albeit still seven points above the dotted line.


Match preview

Conor Gallagher celebrates scoring for West Bromwich Albion against Sheffield United in the Premier League on November 28, 2020© Reuters

Slaven Bilic described last week's victory over Sheffield United as a huge psychological boost for his players given the weight of pressure on their shoulders ahead of the game.

Albion had lost six and drawn three of their opening nine matches since returning to the Premier League before Conor Gallagher's strike got them off the mark with a first win.

With Fulham also winning last time out, the Baggies are still in the relegation zone, one point behind Scott Parker's side.

Bilic will now be hoping to pick up back-to-back wins for some much-needed momentum, knowing that his side have trips to Manchester City and Liverpool over the next three weeks.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson pictured on November 7, 2020© Reuters

Palace are equally in need of the points on the back of defeats to Burnley and Newcastle United without scoring.

In fact, the Eagles have lost three of their last four matches without finding the net, the exception in that run being a 4-1 victory at home to Leeds United.

It is proving to be a familiar story for Palace, who regularly blow hot and cold, never good enough to challenge for Europe but too good to be dragged into the bottom three.

Roy Hodgson will have had nine days to reflect on his side's 2-0 reverse to Newcastle, with Callum Wilson and Joelinton scoring in the final two minutes at Selhurst Park.

It means that since keeping a clean sheet in their opening-weekend victory against Southampton, Palace have conceded in each of their last nine Premier League matches.

On the subject of goals, opponents West Brom's first four league games saw a total of 18 scored at an average of 4.5 per game, compared to seven in the last six (1.2 per game).

Palace are unbeaten in their last four games with Albion, winning three and keeping a clean sheet each time, but they have won only once in six top-flight visits to The Hawthorns.

West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: DDLLLW

Crystal Palace Premier League form: DWLWLL


Team News

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha pictured in September 2020© Reuters

Jake Livermore has missed West Brom's last two games after testing positive for coronavirus, but he is now officially back in contention after self-isolating for two weeks.

However, with Chelsea loanee Gallagher impressing with his winner against Sheff Utd, it may well be that Livermore has to settle for a place among the subs.

Sam Field is the hosts' only confirmed injury absentee, while Conor Townsend is doubtful, but Kieran Gibbs is another to have recovered from COVID-19 and may start.

In terms of the visitors, star attacker Wilfried Zaha is expected to be given the all clear to play this weekend following a period of self-isolating.

If that is not the case, though, then Jordan Ayew and Michy Batshuayi are favourites to get the nod up top.

Luka Milivojevic is back from a three-match ban but is unlikely to force his way into the side, with Jairo Riedewald moving back into central midfield alongside James McArthur.

Palace have the oldest average starting XI in the Premier League this season (29 years, 132 days), with their last game against Newcastle the oldest so far (30y 182d).

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ajayi, Ivanovic, Bartley; Furlong, Gallagher, Sawyers, Gibbs; Pereira; Robinson, Grant

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Clyne, Kouyate, Cahill, Van Aanholt; Townsend, Riedewald, McArthur, Eze; Ayew, Batshuayi


SM words green background

We say: West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Crystal Palace

Palace have lost back-to-back away games in the Premier League without scoring, while West Brom have lost only one of their last four at home, keeping a couple of clean sheets.

Albion could really do with a win ahead of some tough games, but this may well turn out to be a perfect example of two sides cancelling each other out.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:



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Written by
Daniel Lewis

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Bromwich Albion win with a probability of 49.05%. A win for Crystal Palace had a probability of 25.94% and a draw had a probability of 25%.

The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.45%) and 2-0 (8.71%). The likeliest Crystal Palace win was 0-1 (7.48%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.89%). The actual scoreline of 1-5 was predicted with a 0.1% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: West Brom vs Crystal Palace

West Bromwich Albion
25.8%
Draw
32.4%
Crystal Palace
41.8%
411
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Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce pictured on November 6, 2020
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