West Brom vs Southampton predictions: Baggies can add to Saints' woes
- West Brom have won their last five at home in the league
- Southampton's 25-game unbeaten run was ended in midweek
- Recommended bet: Back West Brom to win
Southampton's 25-game unbeaten run was ended by Bristol City on Tuesday and they face an even tougher task when they head to West Brom on Friday.
The Saints went down 3-1 at Ashton Gate and must regroup ahead of their trip to the Midlands to face the Baggies, who won their midweek match 2-0 against Cardiff.
Results at The Hawthorns have shaped Albion's Championship promotion push and they will be aiming for a sixth home league win in a row against Russell Martin's side.
Team news
Both Carlos Corberan and his opposite number Martin may look to rotate after midweek games.
Andreas Weimann could come into the Albion starting line-up after scoring against Cardiff, while Semi Ajayi and Grady Diangana might be available after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Striker Daryl Dike has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury.
Stuart Armstrong, Sekou Mara and Ryan Fraser are candidates to start for Southampton after coming off the bench at Ashton Gate.
Joe Aribo may also feature returning from the AFCON.
The stats
West Brom, who have the third-best home record in the Championship, have won their last five games at The Hawthorns and kept four clean sheets during that time.
The Saints' defeat at Bristol City was their first in 25 matches in all competitions, a streak stretching back to September's 2-1 loss at Middlesbrough.
Martin's side won November's reverse fixture at St Mary's 2-1, with Will Smallbone opening the scoring. Kyle Bartley equalised for the visitors before Adam Armstrong netted the winner.
West Brom won the pair's last meeting in the West Midlands, triumphing 3-0 when they were both in the Premier League in 2020-21. However, Southampton have won the other six of the duo's last seven meetings.
Prediction
Despite Bristol City being a decent outfit, Southampton's defeat still came as a shock. After recovering from such a tough run start to the season to embark on their sensational run, it will be intriguing to see how they react to finally being beaten.
They struggled to find any rhythm at Ashton Gate, with their only goal coming through an Adam Armstrong penalty in the closing stages.
While they were losing in Bristol, the Baggies were easing past Cardiff, with on-loan winger Mikey Johnston opening the scoring after a minute, before Weimann, himself a temporary signing from the Robins, added a second with 10 minutes to go.
Corberan has seen his side steadily improve since taking charge in October 2022 and he knows how to guide a team towards promotion, having taken Huddersfield to the Championship play-off final in 2022.
Southampton have shown themselves to be a classy outfit and remain well in with a shout of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
However, the Baggies' home form arguably makes them the worst possible opponents in their bid to bounce back and a second straight defeat could beckon.
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