West Brom vs Stoke City preview, predictions & possible XIs
West Brom welcome Stoke to the Hawthorns for a showdown in the Championship on Monday evening.
Slaven Bilic’s sit atop of the league table and can stretch their advantage over second-placed Leeds United to four points if they’re able to return to winning ways.
As for Stoke, their battle is to remain in the league, as the Potters are positioned just one point above the relegation zone.
Read on for our West Brom v Stoke preview, predictions, team news and TV coverage information.
When is West Brom vs Stoke and where can I watch live?
Competition: Championship
Venue: The Hawthorns
Date: Monday, 20 January 2020
Kick-off: 8:00 PM (UK time)
TV coverage (UK): Sky Sports Football / Sky Sports Main Event
Last five meetings: West Brom vs Stoke
4 November 2019: Stoke 0-2 West Brom (Championship)
9 February 2019: Stoke 0-1 West Brom (Championship)
1 September 2018: West Brom 2-1 Stoke (Championship)
23 December 2017: Stoke 3-1 West Brom (Premier League)
27 August 2017: West Brom 1-1 Stoke (Premier League)
Aggregate Score: West Brom (WWWLD) 7-5 Stoke (LLLWD)
Ones to watch
West Brom: Matheus Pereira
Matheus Pereira has been nothing short of a revelation for West Brom this season. The 23-year-old forward joined the Baggies from Sporting CP last summer on a season-long loan and has quickly become integral to Bilic’s side’s push for promotion back to the Premier League. Pereira, who has five goals under his belt, is West Brom’s creator-in-chief and will no doubt be a thorn in Stoke’s side on Monday evening.
Key stat: No one has created more goals in the Championship (10) than Pereira this season.
Stoke: Sam Clucas
It’s not been an easy season for Stoke, who are currently attempting to stave off relegation from England’s second division. Goals have been at a premium, after their opening 27 league outings they’ve mustered 33 (1.22 per game) which is a sharp contrast to West Brom’s 50 across the same amount of matches. If they are to trouble the league leaders then Sam Clucas, who has stood up to be counted in Stoke’s midfield, will need to be at the heart of their efforts.
Key stat: Clucas is Stoke’s leading goalscorer in the Championship this season with six goals.
Team news
West Brom
Bilic goes into this latest Championship outing with Kieran Gibbs and midfielder Rekeem Harper still sidelined. The former West Ham boss is expected to make minimal changes from the last team he deployed in the 2-2 draw at Charlton, though Charlie Austin is pushing for a start at Kenneth Zohore’s expense. Nathan Ferguson is also back in contention after a knee injury.
Predicted XI: Johnstone; Furlong, Bartley, Ajayi, Townsend; Sawyers, Livermore; Phillips, Robson-Kanu, Pereira; Zohore.
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Stoke
Ryan Shawcross, who is struggling with a calf injury, will definitely miss the trip to West Brom. Jordan Thompson has been signed from Blackpool for an undisclosed fee and manager Michael O’Neill may be tempted to hand him an immediate debut.
Predicted XI: Butland; Smith, Batth, Lindsay, Martins Indi; Allen; Campbell, Clucas, Powell, McClean; Vokes.
Squawka prediction
West Brom are leading the Championship promotion race but have only won one of their last seven league fixtures. They go into the Stoke showdown having failed to win any of their last three home games, but they will fancy their chances of rectifying their form against their visitors, who have lost four of their last five league matches on the road.
