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

Slowly sliding towards danger at the foot of the table, West Bromwich Albion welcome fellow strugglers Swansea City to The Hawthorns for a Championship contest on Saturday afternoon.

The Baggies shared the spoils with West Midlands counterparts Birmingham City last time out, whilst the Swans suffered a fourth straight defeat in the second tier at the beginning of a new era.

Match preview

Once again, West Bromwich Albion were left to rue missed opportunities as they shared the honours with Midlands rivals Birmingham at The Hawthorns on Wednesday night, when the hosts dropped points from a winning position.

Netting his first Championship strike since early April, Alex Mowatt fired the Baggies ahead courtesy of a heavy deflection off Phil Neumann, before Blues levelled the scores late on through Marvin Ducksch, who has now scored three goals in his last two appearances.

Victorious in just one of his last seven second-tier fixtures, head coach Ryan Mason is coming under increasing scrutiny at The Hawthorns, with West Brom sitting in a lowly 17th position in the Championship table, five points behind Preston North End in the playoff places.

Losing each of their last five away contests, Albion's faint top-six hopes are being kept alive by a respectable five-game unbeaten run in the Black Country, with the Baggies last tasting defeat at home in the middle of September to Derby County.

Struggling to put games beyond opponents once ahead in recent times, West Brom have suffered from the dip in form of Northern Ireland hero Isaac Price, with the attacking midfielder failing to score in any of his last six Championship appearances.

Ahead of November's final Championship weekend, Swansea City are in serious danger of finishing the penultimate month of the calendar year winless after a fourth consecutive defeat in the division on Tuesday night - the club's worst such run since early February.

Taking charge of only his second-ever senior side, 37-year-old Vitor Matos made his managerial debut in South Wales earlier in the week against Derby County, who scored either side of the half-time whistle to sentence Ethan Galbraith's late strike to the category of consolation goals.

Currently enduring a six-game winless run (D1 L5) across EFL Cup and second-tier action, Swansea have slumped down to 19th in the Championship rankings ahead of this weekend's trip to the Black Country, just two points above Oxford United in the highest of the relegation spots.

Since a narrow 2-1 triumph at the base of Blackburn Rovers on September 30, the South Wales outfit have struggled massively on their travels, collecting just two points across a quartet of outings, losing back-to-back matches at Preston (2-1) and Bristol City (3-0) this month.

Finding his feet in the Championship at the beginning of this season with six strikes, marksman Zan Vipotnik has gone off the boil over the past month or so, with the 23-year-old enduring a six-game goal drought across action with Swansea and Slovenia.

West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

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Swansea City Championship form:

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Swansea City form (all competitions):

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Team News

Gifted a start due to Jayson Molumby's suspension on Wednesday night, West Brom's Toby Collyer was forced off during the early stages against Birmingham because of an injury.

As a result, Irishman Molumby could jump straight back into the XI to partner Mowatt, keeping Ousmane Diakite on the Baggies bench.

With his men struggling to find the net consistently, Albion boss Mason might be tempted to try the likes of Daryl Dike and Tammer Bany off the bench this weekend.

Galbraith's spot in the Swansea side is secure after an impressive display versus Derby, but fellow midfielders Liam Cullen and Jay Fulton could drop out of the team.

The Swans also have a number of exciting attacking stars knocking on Matos's metaphorical door for a start, including Manuel Benson and Adam Idah.

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

Griffiths; Campbell, Phillips, Mepham, Styles; Molumby, Mowatt, Johnston, Price, Illing-Junior; Maja

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux; Key, Cabango, Burgess, Tymon; Galbraith, Franco, Fulton; Inoussa, Eom, Idah

We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Swansea City

West Brom are in a real rut under Mason and things could stay the same for a little while longer if they fail to sort out their second-half displays.

Swansea need a backs-to-the-wall performance to escape their dire run of form, and we feel that they should be good enough for a point at The Hawthorns.

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