Two teams in desperate need of three points will lock horns at the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon as West Bromwich Albion welcome Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
West Brom are currently 19th in the table, 11 points behind 17th-placed Newcastle United, while Brighton are 16th in England's top flight, just four points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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West Brom's situation in the Premier League is not quite terminal, but it would be fair to say that a huge turnaround would have to take place for the Baggies to escape the relegation zone.
Indeed, a record of two wins, eight draws and 15 defeats from 25 matches has left them in 19th position in the table, 11 points behind 17th-placed Newcastle on the same number of matches, while they are also eight points from 18th-placed Fulham, who are now threatening to pull themselves out of the drop zone.
West Brom have certainly shown signs of improvement in recent matches, impressing in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on February 14 before picking up a point against Burnley last weekend.
Sam Allardyce's side are without a victory in the league since the middle of January, though, and have won just twice in England's top flight all season, which is an indication of just how much they have struggled.
A win over Brighton would certainly boost their chances of survival, and they recorded a 2-0 victory over the Seagulls when the two teams last met at the Hawthorns in the Premier League in January 2018.
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Brighton have impressed many with their football this season, but there is no question that Graham Potter's side are in a relegation battle as they sit just four points clear of 18th-placed Fulham on the same number of games.
The Seagulls have lost just nine of their 25 league matches this term, which is far from disastrous, but too many draws (11) have prevented them from pushing higher up the table.
Potter's team recorded back-to-back wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on January 31 and February 3 respectively, but they have picked up just two points from their three games since and suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The two teams appeared to be sharing the points at the Amex Stadium, but Christian Benteke's 95th-minute winner secured a huge three points for Palace and left Brighton looking over their shoulders.
The Seagulls have been relatively solid on their travels this term, picking up 16 points from 12 matches, and they will be taking on a West Brom side with the worst home record in this season's Premier League.
West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: LDLLDD
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form: DWWDDL
Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions): WWDLDL
Team News
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West Brom will be without the services of Semi Ajayi following his red card against Burnley, meaning that Dara O'Shea should feature in the middle of the defence alongside Kyle Bartley.
Allardyce revealed on Thursday afternoon that Robert Snodgrass would not be risked against Brighton due to a calf problem, meaning that Matt Phillips should retain his spot in the side.
Kieran Gibbs is also still out, but Lee Peltier and Grady Diangana are both in contention for the strugglers, having returned from recent injuries to make the squad against the Clarets.
As for Brighton, Jose Izquierdo, Florin Andone, Solly March and Adam Webster are unavailable for selection, but Potter revealed on Thursday that Tariq Lamptey would be part of the squad this weekend.
The Seagulls have plenty of options for change, with Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana just two of the players pushing for positions in the starting XI this weekend.
Potter is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack from the Palace loss, though, meaning that Neal Maupay should keep his spot alongside Leandro Trossard in attack.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Furlong, O'Shea, Bartley, Townsend; Pereira, Maitland-Niles, Yokuslu, Gallagher, Phillips; Diagne
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, White, Dunk, Burn; Alzate, Bissouma, Gross; Mac Allister; Maupay, Trossard
We say: West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Both sides desperately need the three points, but we are struggling to separate them in this match. The pair shared the points at the Amex earlier this season, while they have 19 league draws between them in 2020-21. A goalless draw would not be welcomed by either manager, but we are backing the stalemate here.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Matt Law
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 Brighton & Hove Albion win with a probability of 52.15%. A draw had a probability of 25% and a win for West Bromwich Albion had a probability of 22.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brighton & Hove Albion win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.17%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.78%) and 1-2 (9.52%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.85%), while for a West Bromwich Albion win it was 1-0 (7.38%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 7.4% likelihood.
