West Bromwich vs. Blackburn: Preview and betting tips

Friday night football will offer a duel for the Top 6. West Bromwich will welcome Blackburn in Birmingham and the home team will go into the match unexpectedly from a worse position. What to expect from the game?

West Bromwich have been searching for form since January. They have lost four of their last five games, which has caused them to drop to ninth place. The team is newly led by experienced Steve Bruce and his charges are four points behind the Top 6.

Even Blackburn is not in an ideal mood, yet he is maximally satisfied with the development of the season. Despite four points from the last five rounds, they are in third place and can still think about direct promotion. However, they have to look beyond themselves as they have only a two-point lead over fifth-placed Huddersfield.

Karlan Grant keeps the home side in the relegation race, the experienced striker has scored ten goals and assisted four. Ireland’s Callum Robinson is also performing well, scoring five goals and assisting eight.

Look for Ben Brereton Diaz to be behind Blackburn’s successful half-season, the twenty-two year old has scored twenty times and assisted once in the league. He is partnered by another youngster in attack, twenty-year-old winger Tyrhys Dolan boasts a 3+3 record.

West Bromwich are not only not winning, they are not scoring goals. In four of their last five games they have not scored even once, while they have conceded seven times.

Even Blackburn have only scored once in the last five rounds, on the other hand, they are one of the most productive teams in the long run. Only Fulham, Bournemouth and QPR have scored more goals than Blackburn (45).

Given the return of cannonballer Díaz from the national team reunion, I expect him to significantly lift his team’s performance. In his absence Blackburn have scored only one goal in three rounds and Brereton alone has scored 43 per cent of the team’s league goals.