Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton - prediction, team news, lineups

Still searching for their maiden second-tier victory of the calendar year, West Bromwich Albion welcome an in-form Southampton side to The Hawthorns in the Championship on Wednesday night.

The Baggies forced a share of the spoils at the Bramall Lane base of Sheffield United on the weekend, whilst the Saints were on upset duty in the FA Cup at Fulham's Craven Cottage.

Match preview

During the first game after they announced their decision to stick with James Morrison as interim head coach until the end of the season, West Brom picked up a valiant point at Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.

The performance was nowhere near reminiscent of promotion-winning Baggies sides of the past but it did the job in the current dire circumstances, with American defender George Campbell scoring his first-ever senior goal from outside the box to rescue a point for the visitors to Yorkshire.

Despite there being positives to take from the trip to Bramall Lane over the weekend, West Brom remain in the midst of an 11-game winless run (D5 L6) across all competitions, with Wednesday's hosts sitting just a point above the bottom three in the Championship table.

Unlike Albion groups of recent times in the second tier, Morrison's confidence-deprived crop have struggled at The Hawthorns, with the Baggies in the midst of a five-match winless run at their Black Country base (D2 L3).

Whilst considering 2025-26 displays, West Brom must also be labelled as underdogs on Wednesday night given their poor recent record against Southampton, who have won four of their last five matches against this week's hosts in the West Midlands.

© Iconsport / PA Images

Following a spell of one win in eight matches spanning across December and January, Southampton have proven their worth as a serious player on both Championship and cup stages in recent times.

The Saints picked up arguably the most impressive victory of their current 10-game unbeaten run (W8 D2) on Sunday afternoon, when a last-minute penalty from substitute Ross Stewart sent the South Coast visitors into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at the expense of Fulham.

Now on a mission to record four consecutive wins for the second time in 2026 already, Tonda Eckert's troops sit eighth in the Championship rankings with 11 matches left to play, four points behind Wrexham in the lowest of the playoff spots.

Before a key trip to the Racecourse Ground to clash with the Red Dragons on Easter Monday, Southampton face three bottom-half strugglers in the form of West Brom, Norwich City and Oxford United, as well as a trip to Premier League-bound Coventry City.

As mentioned above, the Saints have enjoyed the better of their recent battles with West Brom, who last won this fixture at The Hawthorns in April 2021, when Matheus Pereira, Mbaye Diagne and Okay Yokuslu all started for Sam Allardyce's top-flight Baggies.

West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions):

Southampton Championship form:

Southampton form (all competitions):

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Team News

© Imago

West Brom are battling on without the services of top assister Mikey Johnston, who suffered a stress fracture to his leg in February.

With Karlan Grant (hamstring) also on the sidelines, youngster Oliver Bostock could start once again for the crisis-hit Baggies.

Managing just five first-team appearances since his February 2025 switch from Danish side Randers, the lesser-spotted Tammer Bany is recovering from a thigh problem.

An excellent servant for Brentford during their rise to the Premier League, Mads Roerslev is currently in the medical room of Southampton due to a knee injury.

Enjoying a breakthrough campaign for the Saints in the Championship, 18-year-old Jay Robinson is a doubt for Wednesday night's trip to The Hawthorns.

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Imray, Campbell, Taylor, Styles; Price, Molumby, Diakite, Bostock; Dike, Heggebo

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Peretz; Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Stephens, Manning; Bragg, Charles, Matsuki, Azaz, Scienza; Larin

We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Southampton

Winless at The Hawthorns since December 29, West Brom are facing another difficult Black Country assignment against Southampton on Wednesday.

After beating Premier League outfit Fulham on their own patch, the Saints will be confident of extending their winning streak to four games in the West Midlands.

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