West Bromwich Albion will entertain Southampton on Saturday with three crucial points up for grabs in the Premier League. The Baggies has been in sensational form in recent weeks but suffered a 3-0 away defeat at the hands of league leaders Manchester City in midweek. Alan Pardew will be hoping that his players will do enough to secure a victory at the Hawthorns tomorrow but it won’t come easy as the Saints are fighting for their Premier League lives as well. The contest has the makings of a ‘relegation six-pointer’ with a win crucial to both teams chances of avoiding the agony of relegation to the Skybet Championship at the end of the season.
The recent history of the fixture makes a grim reading for the Baggies fans as the West Midlands outfit has only managed to taste victory once in their previous five meetings with the Saints. West Brom boss Alan Pardew is expected to unleash two strikers on the day and might choose to hand his new signing Daniel Sturridge a start in this match. The prolific English striker will hope to reignite his career ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and a goal against Southampton could go a long way in boosting his confidence for the coming months.
4-4-2 West Bromwich Albion Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Ben Foster will start in goal for the Baggies and might be shielded by a backline of Gareth McAuley and Ahmed Hegazy in central defence along with Allan Nyom taking his place at left-back while Craig Dawson starts on the right side of the back four.
Alan Pardew will be hoping that his side can keep a rare clean sheet at home in Saturday’s clash against the Saints.
Midfield
The duo of Gareth Barry and Claudio Yacob will take their place as holding midfielders with Chris Brunt hugging the left touchline while Matt Phillips looks to cause damage from the right. The Baggies midfielders will be tasked to create some chances for their forwards to feed on and their performance on the day could decide the fate of the contest.
Attack
The striking duo of Daniel Sturridge and Jay Rodriguez will be expected to start up top for the Baggies. Sturridge has been brought into the club to bang in some goals at the Hawthorns and he will be expected to strike a mutually beneficial partnership with Rodriguez in the opposition half.
