West Brom vs Sunderland
England Premier League
Date: Saturday, 21st January 2017
Kick-off at 15:00 UK/ 16:00 CET
Venue: The Hawthorns, West Bromwich.
The struggle continues for David Moyes and his Sunderland side as they will be traveling to Hawthorns this weekend to face West Bromwich Albion.
West Brom still found themselves in the top half of the table after their humiliation at White Hart Lane last week. Harry Kane’s Hat-Trick with McAuley’s own goal completed the 4 goal Humiliation. They are now 8th in the table with 29 points and zero goal difference, they are hoping to avoid a 3rd successive defeat this week.
Things seem to have turned worse for Sunderland in the past weeks, they have been without a win in their last 4 Premier League games. Also Sunderland have conceded at Least 2 goals in their last 4 Premier League games. The good news is they have found the net in each of their last 4 games but they have been unable to outscore their opponents. A win in this game will take them out of the relegation zone depending on results elsewhere.
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 West Brom
Just when heads were turning at the incredible rise of West Brom in the 2016/2017 campaign, the Baggies were brought back down to earth, with Spurs striker Harry Kane bagging himself a hat-trick in what was a great week for the former Leyton Orient loanee after the birth of his baby daughter. Gareth McAuley, who is the top scoring defender in the league, scored at the wrong end midway through the first half which ended in a 4-0 scoreline.
Burnley 2-0 Sunderland
In this FA Cup replay, it was a welcome distraction for both teams, but Burnley managed to keep up their good home record with a win to send them into the fourth round. Just before the half time break, Sam Vokes broke the deadlock, before Andre Gray sealed the FA Cup thrid round tie with a good finish to put more misery on David Moyes' side.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Home vs away
Playing away from home is always tough, as Burnley and Leicester in particular have shown this season, but it's still important to at least pick up a few points here and there, especially in a survival campaign. Sunderland, however, have one once and drawn once away from home, losing the remaining eight games. The Hawthorns is a tough stadium to visist as West Brom have won five of their ten games their (D 2 L3). Will we see another West Brom performance to please the Hawthorns' crowd?
Lack of goals for Sunderland
Notching goals and keeping clean sheets are the fundamental elements for staying in the Premier League. However, Sunderland have done neither of them. Sunderland have had just four different goalscorers this season (Jermain Defoe, Victor Anichebe, Patrick van Aanholt and Fabio Borini). Every other Premier League side has had at least double that. This has to change immediately.
The Baggies' aerial threat
It's notable that West Brom have one of the greatest aerial threats in the league and it shows. West Brom have scored 11 headed goals this season, the joint-most in the division with Arsenal, while Sunderland are the only team yet to score one. It's clear where each side's strengths lie...
