Posts Tagged ‘west brom’

West Brom Preston Team Sheet

Yet again Di Matteo is forced to make changes to a winning team, having not played the same team twice for the last 2 months almost.

Ishmael Miller starts up front as a replacement for Luke Moore in the lone striker position. Moore drops to the bench, Gianni Zuiverloon replaces injured Jonas Olsson.

Jerome Thomas has recovered, however, only makes the bench.

Preston make two changes, with former Baggie Richard Chaplow and Michael Hart coming in for Billy Jones and Paul Coutts.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson; Zuiverloon, Meite, Tamas, Cech; Koren, Watson, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Brunt; Miller. Subs: Kiely (gk), Thomas, Barnes, Cox, Mattock, Moore, Morrison.

PRESTON: Lonergan, Hart, Davidson, St Ledger, Chilvers, Sedgwick, Chaplow, James, Wallace, Brown, Mellor. Subs: Henderson (gk), Collins, Treacy, Carter, Parkin, Barton, Miller.

REFEREE: J Singh (Middlesex).

Albion Preston Preview

Jonas Olsson, Roman Bednar and Steven Reid are all likely to be mising from the team sheet today with all three injured. Olsson limped off at half time in Albions away victory at the Liberty Stadium over Swansea with a calf injury.

Bednar is struggling with a thigh injury which kept him out on Tuesday, while loan star Reid also sat that one out with a groin strain.

Winger Jerome Thomas is still suffering with a hamstring injury too, he will likely miss his 4th game in a row, however, should be back in time for the Coventry game next week.

Andy Slory may find himself being recalled, however we will see later on today.

Preston still have ideas of a play off place and held Albion to a goaless draw earlier in the season so what will we suggest as a good bet today?

Our bet of the day has to be West Brom to win outright at a tight 1.53 with Ladbrokes and we would also suggest Dorrans as the last scorer at 6-1 with William Hills.

Swansea West Brom team news

Luke Moore returns tonight for the trip to Swansea and is joined by Ben Watson and Abdoulaye Meite as new faces to the team compared to last Saturdays home victory over Blackpool.

Luke Moore has recovered from flu as we mentioned earlier today and will start up front on his own, Miller ends up on the bench as a recovered substitute after his first start Saturday for over 15 months.

Meite replaces the injured Steven Reid, Gabriel Tamas will move over to right back and Ben Watson replaces Morrison who drops to the bench. Gianni Zuiverloon makes the subs bench but there is no place for the injured Roman Bednar and Jerome Thomas.

SWANSEA (4-5-1): De Vries; Rangel, Tate, Williams, Monk; Dyer, van der Gun, Britton, Pratley, Gower; Kuqi. Subs: Cornell (gk), Richards, Cotterill, Pintado, Beattie, Bauza, Trundle.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson; Tamas, Meite, Olsson, Cech; Koren, Watson, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Brunt; Moore. Subs: Kiely (gk), Morrison, Miller, Cox, Barnes, Mattock, Zuiverloon.
REFEREE: R East (Wiltshire).

Bednar and Reid out of Swansea line up as Baggies reel from FA fine

Roman Bednar and Steven Reid are both injured and will be unavailable for tommorrows crunch trip to Swansea. Bednar who only returned from a 3 match injury break Saturday is now ruled out with a thigh injury and Reid has a groing problem.

Ishmael Miller who only recently returned from a 15 month absense due to injury picked up a hamstring problem during the Blackpool game, however , he has reacted well to the treatment and will be fit to face Swansea. The same is also said for Luke Moore who has made a recovery from illness which forced him out of the squad on Saturday.

Jerome Thomas who is suffering with a hamstring problem will not be ready in time for the trip to Swansea, however, Di Matteo is taking it all in his stride.

“The injury situation doesn’t get better, does it?” joked Di Matteo.

“You have a good weekend and think you’re looking good for the next game – and then you’re not!

“We’ve lost Steven from Saturday with a little groin problem while this morning Roman felt his quad so he won’t be available either.

“Jerome is also still out but Luke is a bit better from his flu while Ishmael, who got a kick to his hamstring, is recovering from his knock.

“But we’ll need to assess Ish.

“He’s been out for a long time and the same applies to Steven.

“Steven hasn’t played a lot of games in a short period for a long, long time. That goes for James Morrison too.

“All three of them are feeling the games because they’re not quite up to the tempo.

“I wish I could start Ish every game but we need to take all of these factors into consideration.”

The both teams have been fined for failing to control their players after a brawl at Home Park during February. The fine was £12,500 for both teams, however, £7,500 has been suspended until June next year. Should either team be charged with the same between now and then they will have to pay the other £7,500 plus suffer the consequences of the further breach.

Dorrans Penalty wins the spoils for the Baggies

West Brom moved a step closer to the Premiership after a second 5 goal thriller with Blackpool this season. This was the fifth double for the Albion of the season and a mirror of the Bloomfield Road game earlier in the season. The last game was won by a debatable penalty and the same happened at the Hawthorns this afternoon.

Charlie Adam’s scored in the 12th minute before Ishmael Miller equalised a minute later and by half time there was only one team in the game, or so it seemed.

Koren put the Baggies in front in the 53rd minute, however, the Tangerines fought back and equalised through Brett Ormerod on 72 minutes. 6 minutes later, however, Dorrans fired home another penalty and Albion held on for all 3 points.

After Blackpool opened the scoring they had another chance almost from the kick off, however, seconds later Steven Reid’s header was cleared off the line and Albion started to take control. Miller’s pace allowed him to get the better of Tangerines defender Rob Edwards and reach Chris Brunt’s pass and he put the ball through the legs Matt Gilks in to the back of the net.

Jonas Olsson had a header come back off a post but neither Reid or Miller could get the ball to score.

Giles Barnes replaced James Morrison when the teams came back out. Koren hit a 25 yards shot over the bar when Brunt was in a far better position in the 52nd minute, however, he made up for it just 80 seconds later from more or less the same position. That was the Slovenian’s second goal in 2 games.

On the hour Miller was replaced by Roman Bednar and from this point Blackpool started to get a foothold back in to the game. Miller was looking very tired and the lack of games was obviously showing through. In the 72nd minute they got their reward when Brett Ormerod headed of the underside of the bar and the ball smashed in to the back of the net from an Adams cross.

Just 6 minutes later, history repeated itself when the Albion were awarded a decisive penalty that Blackpool were very unhappy with. It was certainly no clear cut penalty, however a penalty it was and Graham Dorrans happily scored from the spot. That was more or less it, Albion closed the game down and held on to gain all 3 points.

This win saw them claw to within 4 points of Newcastle who have a game in hand, but more importantly see’s the Albion go 5 points clear of Forest who lost this afternoon, meaning Albion have their promotion chances down to their own performances now. Albion now need to do better than Forest in 10 of their 11 remaining games and they will most likely be in the premiership.

Sky Bet offer great odds on West Brom games – bet on West Brom, Sky football odds, West Bromwich Albion

Sky Bet offer great odds on West Brom games – bet on West Brom, Sky football odds, West Bromwich Albion

As the end of football Championship is getting closer and closer, all you West Bromwich Albion fans out there must be thinking that you have a strong chance of making the cut for a place back in that prestigious Premier League!

At this moment in time, sitting within an automatic promotion position must be an extremely exciting feeling and it also must give you that urge to bet on West Brom this season. Whether it’s a week in, week out bet or a Championship promotion outright bet, you’ve got to be pretty confident in them as they seem to be flying quite high!

At the current status, Sky Bet is offering their Sky football odds at 5/1 on West Brom to be crowned champions of the Coca Cola Championship for this season. These odds are very good and could possibly change depending on the outcome of the game West Bromwich Albion has in hand so get a few quid on this today! There are of course other markets where you can bet on West Brom this season including a market where you can bet on West Brom just being promoted, not finishing top and then you could also bet on their weekly games.

To see the full range of Sky football odds and markets, visit Sky Bet today.

West Brom Blackpool Ticket News, Smethwick End Sold Out Again

The Smethwick End is sold out for Albion fans yet again for tommorrows Hawthorns visit by Blackpool. All other areas still have tickets available and will be on general sale at the ticket office tommorrow. You will also be able to purchase tickets at the cash kiosks around the ground for 90 minutes before the game and as usual they are situated by each section and only sell the section they are placed in. Therefore, the Smethwick end kiosk will be again closed.

Also bear in mind the roadworks around the ground are ongoing and fans are urged to travel early as usual.

Albion Blackpool preview and betting advice

Albion are considering giving Ishmail Miller his first start for over 14 months, he has made appearances but not started a game since his 13 month long injury lay off with a knee ligament injury. Miller has played in 5 games since recovering and suffered an injured ankle in between too, however, Roberto Di Matteo is considering giving him a start, although he has confirmed it will not be for the full 90 minutes.

“He just needs to work hard in training and get some minutes in the games,” said the Baggies boss.

“I don’t think he’s ready yet to last 90 minutes but at some point I’d like to throw him into the cold water and start him.

“It’s down to him.

“It depends how his attitude is and how much he wants to get that start.”

James Morrison has played 222 minutes in four games after his return from nearly a year out with a heel problem and has shown excellent promise along with being the difference between winning and sharing the points.

“I am a little surprised by how many minutes Mozza has played since returning,” he added.

“He’s not 100 per cent match fit or on top of his form yet but just the fact he’s in the team is important.

“With him the team always has a player who wants the ball and can create a chance for us or has the final pass.

“I think he will get better game after game.

“But we also have to monitor him because playing too many games in a short period of time might increase the risk of getting an injury.”

The return fixture was a 5 goal affair with Graham Dorrans scoring an 83rd minute winner at the Tangerines by way of a penalty. Blackpool are now 7th in the table, aiming for the play offs and play a very attacking game, therefore tommorows game could be quite an open affair, something Di Matteo relishes. Albion have managed a massive 84 goals this season and there is no reason why they cannot complete yet another double of the season, beating Blackpool would be 5th double of the season.

“For the neutral the last game with Blackpool was a good game to watch because there was action and goalscoring opportunities,” said the Albion boss.

“I like the way they play.

“They try to play football and play the right way.

“They create a lot of chances and have a lot of attempts on goal.

“They also give you chances as well and let’s hope they’re going to play like that when they come on Saturday, and it’s going to be an open game rather than one team trying to be positive and the other being destructive or defensive.

“I said earlier in the season they have been the surprise team this year because they have done extremely well, in my opinion.

“It’s nice to see the way they play as well.”

Albion join forces with all 72 Football League Clubs in a united week of action to raise awareness and vital funds for Help for Heroes – The Football League’s Official Charity Partner for the 2009/10 season.

Football for Heroes week is taking place from March 6-14 and showing The Football League’s support for the efforts of our Armed Forces.

The Baggies are holding their ‘Football for Heroes‘ game this weekend.

Captain Scott Carson said: “The Football League could not have picked a more worthwhile cause for its official charity.

“There’s always a lot of talk about footballers being heroes and role models.

“But the real heroes are those who go off to serve their country in the military and who have to deal with the consequences.

“It’s a very humbling experience to think we can do something, however small, to promote their cause so all the players will be delighted to play their part on Saturday.

“The charity does a lot of great work to rehabilitate members of the British Armed Forces injured in the line of duty.

“It’s easy to forget that the troops that do get hurt while fighting for the country have to get on with their lives once they return home, and any support that any of us can give them is extremely important.”

Albion and Blackpool will come out of the the players’ tunnel led by a Help for Heroes banner.

Albion have invited uniformed soldiers from West Bromwich to attend the game as VIP guests and they will form a guard of honour as the players emerge from the tunnel.

Baggies head coach Roberto Di Matteo and Blackpool boss Ian Holloway will wear Help for Heroes wristbands during the game.

Albion’s players have signed two Football League Help for Heroes balls, which will be auctioned off for the charity at a later date.

Lord Mawhinney, Chairman of The Football League, said: “The contribution being made by our armed forces around the world is both outstanding and humbling.

“As a nation, we seldom thank them enough for the sacrifices they make.

“The Football for Heroes week will provide an excellent opportunity for supporters to show their appreciation for the work they do.”

So all in all the game promises to be a cracker and have much to offer besides. Where will the sensible money be on this game?

Well the bet of the day has to be a toss up between over 2.5 goals and an Albion victory outright.

You can find all the best prices on every market here on our All Best WBA Match Odds

West Brom Sheffield Wednesday Team news, Barnes on bench.

Lke Moore is back in the starting line up as two changes are made by Albion.

Graham Dorrans is the second returning player, with Ben Watson heading to the bench as well as the recovered Simon Cox.

Steven Reid keeps his place to make his home debut and Giles Barnes makes the bench too. He could well make his first senior appearance tonight. Joe Mattock drops off the bench for a total rest.

Ex Albion player Darren Purse is the team captain for the opposition tonight.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson; S Reid, Tamas, Olsson, Cech; Brunt, Morrison, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thomas; Moore. Subs: Kiely (gk), Meite, Koren, I Miller, Watson, Cox, Barnes.

SHEFFIELD WED (4-4-2): Grant; Spurr, Purse, Beevers, Nolan; Johnson, Potter, O’Connor, T Miller; Varney, Clarke. Subs: O’Donnell (gk), Hinds, McAllister, Jeffers, Simek, Soares, Gray.

REFEREE: S Mathieson (Cheshire).

QPR West Brom Preview – Baggies March On

It is the first game of March for the Albion, and March could be the operative word!

West Brom stuttered a little in February, however, highly obviously down somewhat to the amount of games they had to play. 8 games were played in just 25 days, including the FA Cup double header versus Reading. In the league the Albion won 4 lost 1 drew 1, but would surely have won all had they not been so tired. Now the Albion are expected to March on in to battle, they have not to play a game every 3 days like February. A March it could well be, facing Warnock, could today be another battle? Surely not like the Battle of Bramall Lane, although when it comes to Neil Warnock who knows, anything could happen.

New Queens Park Rangers boss Neil Warnock, the former Crystal Palace boss took over the reins on Tuesday and would likely do anything to beat the Baggies, he would like nothing better than to kick off with a win.

Roberto Di Matteo will not want to gap at the top to develop any further than 6 points, so Albion will be out to win this and spoil Warnock’s party.

Warnock will check on the fitness of Lee Cook, Matt Connolly and Kaspars Gorkss ahead of the game.

Winger Cook has been struggling with a cold this week and defender Connolly has an ankle injury.

Centre-half Gorkss has also not trained this week after picking up a knock and all three are battling to be fit to face the second-placed Baggies.

Warnock will be hoping playmaker Akos Buzsaky returns from international duty with Hungary in one piece.

Strikers Tamas Priskin (groin) and Marcus Bent (hamstring) should be fit but teenager Antonio German could keep his place after signing a new contract this week.

Midfielders Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands remain long-term absentees with knee injuries.

Roman Bednar will most likely be missing as his groin injury is not responding as would be liked, although the Baggies can score without him as was showed last week when they knocked 3 past Derby.

Good news on the Baggies front is of course the news that Ishmael Miller will be available and he is a likely starter. Another surprise and more likely to start than Miller is Giles Barnes, the lad has recovered much faster than expected and played a full ninety minutes in the reserve game against Walsall midweek.

Chris Brunt has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the Northern Ireland team midweek and he like all the other internationals are all available too. It remains to be seen, however, those that had international games could be rested in favour of the players who have had a full weeks rest. This becomes more apparent when you consider how many games were played in February and the drop in form that a few players and the coaching staff have blamed on tiredness.

Steven Reid returns to QPR wearing blue n white stripes as opposed to the blue and white hoops he wore when on loan there earlier in the season, he could well be another starter today.

So, all things considered, Albion should march on today and kick March of to a perfect start. They will have no excuses and should easily brush QPR aside.

You can get a great 11-10 on the Albion with Sky today and West Brom blog has secured you a free £10 matched bet if you open a new account there.

Follow this link to Sky Bet for Championship Betting, you will get a free tenner matched bet.

Albion Sign Blackburn Midfielder Steven Reid

West Brom today completed the loan signing of Blackburn midfielder Steven Reid on an initial month’s loan.

An Ireland international, he plays at either Right Back, right midfield or central midfield and arrives just in time to be able to play in the QPR game tomorrow.

Reid, 29 on Wednesday, will also be available for Albion’s following seven games against Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool, Swansea, Preston, Coventry, Reading and Leicester.

Albion Boss Roberto Di Matteo said: “Steven is an exciting player and I’m delighted to welcome him to the club.

“We’ve been looking to strengthen our squad for the final push and Steven certainly fits the bill.

“He’s a versatile player with loads of experience.

“We’ve had some great references about Steven so hopefully he’ll perform at the level we expect him to.”

Reid has been at Ewood Park for 7 years, at 6ft 1in Reid has underlined his value by being a regular player all this time and operated in various positions

He won Blackburn’s goal-of-the-season award in 2005/06 thanks to his thunderbolt at Wigan.

Free Baggies Bus Returns

West Brom are due to return the support shown to them again soon with the return of the free travel to an away game. There will be up to 40 free supporters coaches on offer for the trip to Reading on Saturday March 27th.

This is free travel for around 2000 fans to the game and will no doubt add to the chances of a sell out for the game along with massive support. In previous times of free coaches the Baggies have won 3 of the 8 games they involved over the last 7 seasons.

Albion chief executive Mark Jenkins said: “The supporters have once again been brilliant on our away trips this season.

“The backing they have given the team is appreciated by everyone at the club.

“As a thank you to the travelling fans, who go everywhere in big numbers, we are laying on free coaches to a game for the seventh successive season.”

There are 2000 tickets available for the game at the Madjeski, season ticket holders and members will be charged £22.50, £16.50 seniors and seven to 21 year olds, and £11.50 juniors.

None members or season ticket holders can add £2 to the price.

The club are saying that supporters should hurry to book coaches to save disappointment, however, we are not sure why this may be as you cannot by your coach seat unless you have already purchased your match ticket. Maybe it is to make sure that there are no surplus coaches booked?

Match tickets are now on sale to away season ticket holders via internet, phone and in person and the same options are available for booking your coach travel too.

Normal season ticket holders can buy from Wed the 10th online and then from the following Saturday by phone or in person. Members will be allowed to buy tickets from Thursday March 22nd, then they will go on general sale from Monday March 22nd.

Bristol City Albion Team Sheet Bednar Starts

For this live televised game the Albion have rung the changes yet again.

Bednar returns and Youssouf Mulumbu is back from suspension, these are the only two changes.

Luke Moore and Andy Slory are the casualty’s who drop to the bench, Abdoulaye Meite is now fit and another one of the substitutes.

Gary Johnson names an unchanged Robins team to the one that drew 1-1 at home to Leicester five days ago.

BRISTOL (4-4-2): Gerken, Nyatanga, Carey, Orr, Fontaine, Skuse, Elliott, Johnson, Clarkson, Haynes, Iwelumo. Subs: Collis, Maynard, Hartley, Williams, Sproule, Plummer, Edwards.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson, Zuiverloon, Tamas, Olsson, Mattock, Brunt, Koren, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Nouble, Bednar. Subs: Kiely, Slory, Moore, Cox, Meite, Thorne, Wood.

Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancs).

Bristol City West Brom Preview

West Brom may or may not have Bednar available tomorrow dependant on a late fitness test, it remains to be seen whether his back injury has cleared up. James Morrison (heel), Jerome Thomas (suspension), Gonzalo Jara (foot) and Ishmael Miller (ankle) are all unavailable to boss Roberto Di Matteo.

Bristol City have won only one in eleven of their last Championship games and are looking quite an easy task, however, a home draw against Leicester City resulted in manager Gary Johnson praising his players along with the fans, whom he said were getting right behind the team. They are due to break this bad streak and as the games go on they get closer and closer to doing so. Every dog has their day and Albion manager Di Matteo will be warning his players to be wary.

There has been quite an atmosphere and much unrest at Ashton Gate for the last few months, with them going from near the play off’s to near the drop.

Add the bad form of Bristol City and the fact that Albion are the best travelled club in the championship, most will expect to see an away win, this is shown in the fact that Albion are odd’s on with most bookies. Albion have gained more points away from home, losing only to Barnsley this term and are the Championships form club this month too.

The only evidence against the Albion winning this with ease is the injury problems that have befallen them, oh and of course the amount of games that they have had to play this month.

A good bet would seem Albion to come from behind as this has been the way of late, added to the fact that almost all of goals scored against city have come in the last ten minutes.

On Betfair you can get 33-1 on Bristol leading at half time with the Albion winning the match. Updated prices are shown here on our live WBA odds comparison page.

If Bristol City were to win this game, it will be the first time in 15 years.

The last two games between the 2 have seen the Albion 4 to 1 victors.

David Clarkson is the only Bristol City player to have scored in the last 540 minutes of league football.

This will be the 4 double of the season if the Baggies win.

9 First team players were missing at Cardiff, however, heading down the M5 again will not see the Albion so short.

Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu will be available after playing out his suspension, although Jerome thomas is still with 2 games left of his ban. Giles Barnes played well midweek for the reserves, however, the club report he is not yet fit enough for first team action so is unlikely to figure.

So the team sheet will be interesting tomorrow, however, there is likely to be 18 players available unlike Tuesdays game when Bednar had to sit on the bench even though he was never going to get on the pitch.

Do Newcastle Want Koumas Just To Spite The Baggies?

Jason Koumas is apparently subject of a battle between at least Albion and Newcastle for his loan services. Albion have been working very hard to bring in some loan cover and it has been heavily catalogued that Jason Koumas was top of the list. Now it seems that just as the day arrives that would be perfect for season end loans and the Albion are likely to try to finalise a deal, Newcastle suddenly appear trying to gazump them.

Could they simply be after Koumas to save him from going to the Albion? Do they really need his services? With Koumas in the ranks, the Albion could easily expect to finish the run in on great form, are Newcastle scared that this would be enough to land Albion the title?

The Baggies seem to have struggled up to now to get anywhere with premiership clubs in the race to bolster an injury riddled team. It is looking more and more unlikely that the Albion will secure any loan player services in time for the trip to Ashton Gate.

Koumas is certainly available, Latics boss Roberto Martinez has confirmed that they will listen to any offers.

Victor Moses was the last player that Newcastle and Albion fought to sign, they both lost out the, who will win this time? Does Koumas really want to make the move to either anyway? There have been no comments from him on either team, or even a loan move in general.

Defence is another section of the pitch that Albion are struggling in, perhaps the struggle for loan signings may head this direction now too. Giles Barnes is getting closer to full fitness and Jerome Thomas has just 2 games of suspension left, so midfield will hopefully be the least weaker position within a week.

In the opposite direction, Marcus Haber has gone out on loan to League One Exeter for an initial month’s loan.

The 21 yr old striker who signed from Vancouver Whitecaps last month, will most probably make his debut in the Grecians’ home game against Stockport on Saturday.

Quarter finals to be televised.

Whoever wins the replay between Albion and Reading this time next week will play either Villa or Palace on Sunday, March 7 (ko 1.45pm).

Will it be a live televised game on Sunday March 7th from the Hawthorns or the Madjeski?

All FA Cup quarter final games will be screened live on ITV1.

Here are the times and dates for each game.

Saturday, March 6

Portsmouth v Blues (ko 12.30pm)

Fulham v Bolton or Tottenham (ko 5.20pm)

Sunday, March 7

Reading or West Brom v Crystal Palace or Villa (ko 1.45pm)

Chelsea v Manchester City or Stoke (ko 4pm)

Cardiff tickets latest.

Ticket sales at the Hawthorns box office for tonight’s visit to Cardiff are now finished, they did so at 1pm, however, there will be a certain amount of tickets on sale at the away ticket office at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff have told club that any Albion fans buying tickets at the ground “will be vetted by police before they are allowed entry into the stadium”.

Having already sold over 1200 tickets there will be a decent crowd tonight, however, it is likely that it will not be a sell out. Prices are £26 for adults and £15 for seniors & juniors.

No team is Odds on for the Championship

With the title race still wide open there are some winning odds available on the eventual winners of the Championship.

On the Betfair exchange you can still get 2.6 on the Baggies with leaders Newcastle still on offer at 2.1 so if you think it is between these two teams you cannot go wrong by backing both. Fancy Forest’s chances of beating both the Albion and the Toon to the title? Well they are on offer at 8, so there is a massive return available for you there.

Newcastle are 1.02 and 1.03 respectively to manage a top 6 finish so those of you with a large fund available and looking for a return could do so with that market. Forest are almost evens to make the same top 6 finish too, so maybe your funds are worth placing there?

Promotion wise, Albion, Newcastle and Forest are 1.42, 1.3 and 2.58 with the 2 Welsh teams Cardiff and Swansea at 5.9 and 5.6.

If you are looking the other direction, you can always lay Newcastle in the title race at 2.12.

These odds are very fluid and trading opportunity’s will appear on and off as the days and weeks progress. Have you the nerve and the skill to trade these teams during the run in?

Sign up with Betfair to take advantage of these betting exchange odds and get your free £25 for signing up.

The trip to Cardiff also offers a few different bets, Cardiff are 2.92, Albion 2.62 anf 3.4 the draw is offered. You can get 10′s on an Albion single goal victory and 27′s on a 3 to 1 win, with west brom to win both halfs at 4.5.

Reading FA Cup replay tickets info

Tickets for the Reading replay next Wednesday are on sale to season ticket holders and members now.

Albion seem intent on getting a bumper crowd and have reduced ticket prices for the tie, although the reductions are more for season ticket holders than not.

The prices for season ticket holders are £15 adults, £10 seniors/under-18s/students and £5 juniors and for non season ticket holders are as follows, £20 adults, £15 seniors/under-18s/students and £10 juniors.

Seat tickets are now on sale and will go on general sale from 9AM Saturday morning, you may purchase your tickets online, by phone or from the Hawthorns ticket office.

Any season ticket holder not purchasing their ticket by Friday 4PM will lose the right to their seat.

Their will be no relocation for Smethwick end fans as Reading have only been allowed an allocation of 2800 tickets, this was on their own request.

FA Cup draw may match Albion and Villa

This afternoon’s FA Cup draw see’s the possibility of the Baggies facing local rivals Aston Villa at the Hawthorns.

Still two games need to be settled, however, should Villa and Albion both progress to the quarter finals they will be paired against each other.

After an entertaining draw today, Villa need to replay against Crystal Palace and then the result of that will see them play the winners out of next Wednesday’s Albion, Reading replay.

Chelsea face Manchester City or Stoke in the quarter-finals. The reigning champions easily beat Cardiff City 4-1 yesterday to make the next round and they will host either City or the Potters, who played out a 1-1 draw at Eastlands last night.

Elsewhere, Portsmouth will face Birmingham while Fulham meet Bolton or Tottenham.

FA Cup quarter-final draw:

Chelsea v Manchester City or Stoke

Fulham v Bolton or Tottenham

Reading or West Brom v Crystal Palace or Aston Villa

Portsmouth v Birmingham

Ties to be played on the weekend of March 6 and 7.

Boro game switched for TV Coverage

West Brom’s home tie with M’Boro on Saturday, April 17 will be screened live on TV and will now kick off at 5.15pm and not 3pm as previously arranged.

The Baggies will be aiming to complete a double over Boro following their magical 5 goals to nil victory back in September at the Riverside Stadium.

Reading Albion preview, team news and odds detail

Reading and West Brom meet tomorrow in an all Championship FA Cup fifth round tie and Albion are not expecting anything like the easy 3 to 1 victory they had at the Hawthorns in October.

In a game where one club is struggling near the foot of the table and another club is topping the table, you would not expect the struggling club to be so expected to win. The Royals, however, have beaten top opposition including the premier giants Liverpool and also Burnley, to get thus far.

Saturday’s game at the Madejski Stadium looks likely to render the pair’s differing league fortunes irrelevant, with Reading as sure that they will get through to the quarter final as any of the other 15 teams still in the hat.

The Baggies head for the Madejski Stadium looking to book a place in the quarterers but have to get past a rejuvenated Reading team, who have only lost three times in 11 games since new head coach Brian McDermott took over and have moved within a point of Coca-Cola Championship safety.

Royals tactician is looking to mastermind another scalp en route to a place in the last eight, with Albion the team in his sight’s..

Reading will be without defender Zurab Khizanishvili, the Georgia international made his home debut in the win over Plymouth on Tuesday night but is now cup tied having played for Blackburn in the FA Cup already.

Matt Mills is available again, however, after serving a one-match ban and he should take Khizanishvili’s place in the centre of defence.

Sigurdsson, who has scored in both rounds has been out with a foot injury while Czech Republic international Matejovsky has been struggling with an abdominal injury, however, both are rumoured to be close to fitness and may play a part.

Roberto Di Matteo has to make changes again, not only because of being involved in so many games of late, however, also because of injury, cup ties and suspension issues.

Loanee Frank Nouble is ineligible for the tie having played earlier in the competition for West Ham.Then there will be others missing, striker Ishmael Miller (ankle), defender Marek Cech (hamstring), winger Jerome Thomas (suspended) and midfielders James Morrison (heel) and Giles Barnes (Achilles) all remain unavailable.

Di Matteo has also confirmed that youth team players will be on the bench for the match, with the Baggies boss possibly having his mind on Tuesday’s crunch Championship clash at Cardiff.

Young Graham Dorrans may be rested for tomorrow’s FA Cup clash at Reading, the Baggies midfielder who is on top form this season, is carrying a slight hip flex injury.

Although not serious, Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo may be tempted to give him a break, although still will be viewed in many quarters as the wrong thing to do with so many other forced changes coming.

Roberto Di Matteo said: “Graham Dorrans has been fantastic for us, also because he has been playing with a little injury in the last three weeks.

“I am aware of it and wary of it.

“You always try to think ‘maybe I can pull him off’, but it’s kind of difficult because he can be so influential for us.

“He’s got a little problem on his hip flex, which we’ll have to monitor.”

Di Matteo has some pedigree in the FA Cup, scoring in two finals for Chelsea back in 1997 and 2000.

“I’m not sure if it’s helped our league campaign but a win gives you confidence,” he added.

“Every win gives you confidence, whether it’s in the league or cup. It gives you a belief. It’s a nice habit.

“It’s a great competition the FA Cup in England. We’ve tried our best in previous games and that’s what we’ll do on Saturday – we’ll try to get through to the next round.”

Paddy Power are offering a free tenner bet for all new account’s and the odds available are 7/4 on Reading, 12/5 the draw and 7/5 on the Albion with 80 more bets available on the game.

Sky are offering 7/4 on Reading, 12/5 the draw and 6/4 on the Albion. They too are offering a free tenner bet, however, this is a tenner match bet.

Ladbrokes will give you 8/5 on either result with 12/5 the draw like elsewhere and are also offering West Brom Blog readers a free tenner too.

Bet 365 are now running a great new incentive where you can pick your own bonus and one that is far greater than before, get up to £200 as a starter with maybe more to follow. Their odds on the game are slightly different with 7/4 Reading, 6/4 Albion and 23/10 the draw.

Keep an eye out around the West Brom Blog for plenty of special offers at all the sports books and a few offers at online casinos and poker rooms.

Di Matteos take on Koren and Koumas …

Speaking to Sky Sports today Roberto Di Matteo stated that a line had been drawn under the Robert Koren hand shaking episode and that it was unfortunate that the agent chose to get involved.

When asked about the point made by the agent that Koren had been played out of position for 80% of the season he said:

“Perhaps the agent should become the manager here as he obviously knows more than most managers” with a wry smile on his face.

He was then asked by the Sky News reporter if Jason Koumas was on his way to the club. With a child like expression on his face, the sort that reveals he is not quite telling the truth he said:

“He is a good player”

This seems to be a sure fire pointer that Jason Koumas will surely be strutting his stuff back at the Hawthorns very soon.

Nouble Starts and there are 3 more changes tonight

Fresh kid on the block, short term loan signing Frank Nouble is given his Albion debut as Roberto Di Matteo makes a total of 4 team changes tonight. Obviously Jerome Thomas was out, but the other three are chosen.

The West Ham forward Nouble replaces the suspended Jerome Thomas on the left wing as we suggested earlier today, however, Slory still gets no better than the bench.

Gonzalo Jara, Jonas Olsson and Robert Koren are all recalled after being rested at Plymouth, the benched three who they replace are Gianni Zuiverloon, Abdoulaye Meite and Simon Cox.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Tamas, Olsson, Mattock; Brunt, Koren, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Nouble; Bednar. Subs: Kiely (gk), Cox, Moore, Meite, Zuiverloon, Thorne, Slory.

SCUNTHORPE (4-4-2): Murphy; Byrne, Mirfin, Jones, Sparrow; Togwell, O’Connor, Moloney, McDermott; Wright, Hooper. Subs not used: Lillis (gk), McCann, Hayes, Forte, Woolford, Morris, Raynes.

REFEREE: K Wright (Cambridgeshire).

West Brom Scunthorpe Preview

West Brom will be aiming to keep up the pressure on Newcastle the Championship leaders and fight of Notts Forest who are hot on their tails for the 2nd auto promotion spot to the Premiership.

The Iron come to the Hawthorns at a time when the Albion have found their form both at home and away at long last. Scunthorpe will still be smarting from the late Crystal Palace winner on Saturday, after making a break from the risky bottom of the table with 2 wins before that game. Nigel Adkins this morning confirmed that he will be without Marcus Williams and Garry Thompson for tonights game at the Hawthorns.

Left-back Williams is banned for 1 game after the sending off at Palace on Saturday, when he committed a professional foul on Kieron Djilali. Williams has a hamstring injury and will not be available for a few weeks.

West Brom will probably give fresh in the door loan signee Frank Nouble his debut in place of the 4 match banned Jerome Thomas. His arrival is designed to combat the loss of Ishmael Miller, however, he is equally capable of playing an attacking midfield position or as a winger on either side too. Andy Slory is also competing for his first start on the wing too, so it could be a toss up between the ex Feyenoord player and the ex West Ham player. It is doubtful that both will get a starting place, however, very likely that one will be on the bench and one on the pitch at the start.

Marek Cech is ruled out once again with the hamstring injury that will see him miss at least another week and a half. Jonas Olsson, Gonzalo Jara and Robert Koren will all be pressing for a recall and whilst missing at Plymouth will be in contention, as Di Matteo will likely ring changes due to the stack up of games this month.

The ever present Roman Bednar may well be a casualty tonight down to the same issue of fitness levels befa;
lling the whole team and the club have stressed how they do not want to burn out 22 year old Graham Dorran’s too.

Giles Barnes and James Morrison are both long term injury concerns and unlikely to be available until April at the earliest.

Tonight’s betting news is as you would expect favouring the Baggies and the only way to make a killing will be to choose a scorer or even a scorer and Albion win.

A Roman Bednar first goal in a 3 to nil win see’s a return of £280 for a tenner. You can get any tenner bet matched with a free tenner bet if you sign up with Sky Bet through West Brom Blog, meaning that your £10 would return £560 instead of £280, what better time than to take your free tenner bet with Sky Bet than today.

Sky are offering 2/5 for an Albion win, 10/3 on a draw and 15/2 on an unlikely Scunthorpe victory.

Eager Nouble may start tonight against the Iron

Frank Nouble has today spoken about his hope for the future and how he thinks he could help out tonight. Although a striker he has confirmed himself as a potential replacement for the suspended Jerome Thomas against Scunthorpe.

He said: “I just want to play in an attacking role, be it left wing, right wing or up front, I am here to gain some experience and help the team.”

The 18-year-old finalised his initial 28 day loan from West Ham earlier today and in time to face Scunthorpe at the Hawthorns tonight.

Continuing, Nouble said:

“I am very excited. I watch some of the games on TV and some of the teams like West Brom are big teams, so I want to see how I do at this level.

“I made my debut at 17 recently. I have just turned 18 and I want to get as much experience as I can in any league, be it the Championship or Premier League.”

The youngster’s arrival from Upton Park gives Roberto Di Matteo extra options in the quest for a replacement for Thomas, who begins his four match ban tonight.

Nouble agreed that Di Matteo’s friendship with West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola played a big part in securing the move.

He said: “Gianfranco Zola and the manager here are close friends, so it was easy for them to talk about me. I think Roberto Di Matteo definitely listened to what he said and I think he is happy I have come here.

“The manager here has Chelsea links and was a terrific player when at Chelsea with Gianfranco Zola.”

Albion first team coach Michael Appleton has also spoken about Nouble: “Frank is really strong and aggressive and he will give us an outlet sometimes when we need that, especially when teams are trying to frustrate us.

“He is versatile and can play in different positions, which is good for us. There may be times when we want to use him in the centre but he has played a lot of football lately in wider areas so I think we’ll look to use him in both areas of the pitch as and when we need to.”

So, with Thomas out and Nouble fresh whilst other players are suffering from the rigours of 4 games in 10 days, added to the fact that he cannot play Saturday at Reading due to being cup tied, it is very likely that he will start tonight.

Albion really do need to make changes quite often at the moment anyway, as by next Tuesday at 10 pm they will have played 5 games in 13 days, a ridiculous amount in such a short period.

Plymouth Albion team news – Youth on bench

Roberto Di Matteo has this morning spoken of injuries that will effect today’s line up.

Marek Cech is not on the team sheet due to a hamstring injury picked up midweek against Blackpool.

Joe Mattock has recovered and is available for selection at Home Park so looking likely to replace Cech.

Ishmael Miller Will not be making the bench after damaging his ankle against Blackpool, bringing scary times for the youngster just back from a long term injury.

“Joe is fine now,” said the Baggies boss.

“Unfortunately Ish and Marek got injured on Wednesday and they will be missing today.

“We’re going to call-up George Thorne from the youth team so we have enough players on the bench.”

Giles Barnes speaks of his fitness confidence.

Giles Barnes is hoping to make his first appearance for new club Albion within weeks after vowing to rediscover the form that made him a £7 million man.

The ex Derby winger was talking to the club site for the first time about his fight to regain full fitness and explained that his ruptured Achilles has now fully healed.

Barnes is hoping and convinced that all the injuries over the last 3 years are now behind him and that he can get on with his career.

He said: “I’m there or thereabouts. I am short of game practice and I’m not going to hide that but as soon as I get one or two game practice games behind me I would be thinking I’d be ready to enter the first team if selected.

“My Achilles feels fantastic. I don’t have any pain or any swelling from it, so I suppose that’s a good thing.”

At 21 he has already been one of English football’s brightest talents and attracted bids of £7million in the summer of 2007, one of those bids from West Ham, this was after helping Derby reach the Premier League at Albion’s cost. The hammers move looked all set to go when the injury nightmare started.

He said: “There is no doubt in my mind. I was probably playing better football than ever when I went on loan to Fulham, even though it was in reserve games. In training I was sharper than I had ever been before.

“Even though I got my Achilles injury from that, I didn’t lose my football brain and thank God I haven’t lost any pace or anything like that.

“You come back stronger from things like that and if you keep watching football you learn things as well.”

With foot, knee and Achilles problems since 2007, Barnes has never considered once that his career could be doomed to failure.

He said: “That is one thing that never came into my head – not even an echo. I am that eager to get back. If anyone had turned around to me and said ‘we’re not too sure,’ that would have been a big shock to me.

“But not playing again is not something I ever contemplated.”

Only time will tell, however, should Barnes regain the form he was capable of and steer clear of any further injury, Albion may have an asset on their hands that could be worth close on £10 million.

Plymouth West Brom preview – All Change?

Hot Striker Roman Bednar who has scored 5 goals in 5 games made his debut at Plymouth some 2 years ago scoring 2 goals. In his own words, he has stated that players seem to score goals against the same teams, quoting the 3 he scored against Sheffield as an indicator of this. He looks like the very first name on the team sheet.

Presently there are a few names that may not make it due to knocks picked up in the midweek trip to Blackpool. Ishmael Miller picked up a knock to his ankle whilst winning the penalty that gave Albion all three points and Marek Cech limped of at full time with a sore hamstring.

Other than these two, Di Matteo is able to choose an unchanged team for the sixth game on the trot. With Miller only on the bench in recent games due to lack of match practice and of course Bednar’s form Albion are likely to continue with the lately favoured 1 up front formation. This will be the fourth game Di Matteo picks an unchanged side if he does so, however, with the Cech injury and the amount of games in such a short period this is unlikely.

There will most likely be 4 or 5 changes just to make sure that players are not worn out, 3 games in 7 days is far too much for any player.

Speaking on the club website http://www.wba.co.uk Roberto Di Matteo had this to say on the subject:

“We’ve had a settled team down to the fact we haven’t picked up any injuries and have been playing well, creating chances and winning games,” said Di Matteo.

“He’s an important player for us and we don’t want to lose him to injury.”

So the changes are due to be ringed, will Slory make his full debut? Who will get to start is still up in the air and unlikely to be finalised before 2pm Saturday afternoon.

Plymouth are 2nd bottom, however, seemingly reinvigorated and Paul Mariners men are now up for the fight for survival.

Blackpool 2 West Brom 3 match highlights

For 20 minutes neither team could take the game by the horns and it was free kick after free kick for either team. By the 25th minute Blackpool took the lead with a shot from Keith Southern, this was not really showing a fair scoreline as neither team deserved the lead and one just knew that an Albion equaliser was due within minutes.

Well Roman Bednar proved this point on 29 minutes, when his shot was on target beating the keeper. The next ten minutes passed and still neither team could really say they had the advantage. It was still pretty close when on the 40th minute up popped Bednar again, his shot was again on target and beat the Tangerines keeper quite easily.

West Brom now took control and continually troubled Blackpool with endless shots and chances but the half time whistle saw them go in with just a 1 goal advantage, probably a fair scoreline considering how close the first 40 minutes had been.

Anwele Story came on for Jerome Thomas on 53 minutes and Albion continued to control the game, it was only time before they extended their lead even though Blackpoool were having the odd chance. On 65 minute Bednar was replaced by Miller and the Albion are still in control. The first half saw Bednar as Albions key player, however, the second half has been a star performance for Dorrans.

From around the 70th minute Blackpool start getting the upper hand and looked likely to get an equaliser, partly down to Albions nerve cracking and Blackpool’s determination in front of their home fans. On 80 minutes the equaliser came from Dobbie when Rob Edwards managed to get the ball in to the box from a throw in.

Albion fans, players and Di Matteo alike, were cursing and could have easily settled for a draw or given in completely as many team would have done to such a high flying in form team.

Blackpool were in complete control, however, when Albion managed to get on the attack in the 83rd minute, Miller was brought down in the box. Up steps Dorrans with only 1 goal out of his last 2 penalty’s. Would the Albion youngster be able to keep his nerve?

He sure did and the Albion were back in front with only 7 minutes to go.

It was cue the kitchen sink time and Blackpool certainly did so, Albion were under siege but managed to keep their nerve and run out 3 – 2 winners with all three points. This places the Baggies back in the guaranteed promotion spot.

Reading West Brom FA Cup tickets latest

The Baggies will be travelling to Reading for their FA Cup tie guaranteed to have maximum support after all 4000 tickets sold out yesterday.

Albion’s entire allocation for the FA Cup 5th round tie at Reading have gone and there are no more to come.

So it is a guarantee that there will be a great baggies roar at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday week.

Blackpool West Brom team news

Albion name an un changed team for the fifth consecutive game tonight for the trip to Blackpool.

Joe Mattock is replaced on the bench by new signing Andy Slory and it is uncertain whether that is by choice or because he has failed to recover from sickness. Slory will most likely get a run out at some point even, if it is just to get some match practice under his belt.

Ian Holloway makes three changes to the Blackpool side that drew 1-1 with Coventry at the weekend.

Fresh in the door lloan signing DJ Campbell starts in attack along with Danny Coid and Ben Burgess who also enter the teamsheet.

They are in to replace Brett Ormerod, who is suspended, Gary Taylor-Fletcher drops to the bench and Alex Baptiste is left out altogether.

BLACKPOOL (4-4-2): Rachubka; Edwards, Coid, Crainey, Evatt; Southern, Vaughan, Bannan, Adam; Burgess, Campbell. Subs: Gilks (gk), Taylor-Fletcher, Martin, Euell, Butler, Husband, Dobbie.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Tamas, Olsson, Cech; Brunt, Koren, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thomas; Bednar. Subs: Kiely (gk), Slory, Miller, Zuiverloon, Cox, Meite, Moore.

REFEREE: D Foster (Newcastle).

Filipe Teixeira loaned out to Barnsley

Barnsley have completed a loan swoop for West Brom midfielder Filipe Teixeira with minutes to go before the transfer window closed.

The 29-year-old will initially join the Tykes on a month-long deal, but could make a permanent move.

The former Portugal U21 international is set to be out of contract at The Hawthorns in the summer and Barnsley boss Mark Robins is keen to run the rule over the talented playmaker. It is unusual for the Albion to let a players contract run down, recent years have seen departures rather than attempts to hold out to the very end.

“Filipe is technically a top, top player,” Robins told his club’s official website.

“He is a playmaker who was instrumental in helping West Brom win promotion a couple of seasons ago.

“He will come here initially for a month, but his contract is up at the end of the season and will give both parties the chance to have a much closer look at each other.

“Filipe needs to play games and if we can get him playing to the top of his ability then he will be a very, very good addition to our squad and will benefit us greatly.”

Martis exits Hawthorns on deadline day

Doncaster Rovers have signed West Bromwich Albion defender Shelton Martis for an undisclosed fee at the end of the transfer window.

Martis has returned to the Keepmoat Stadium on a permanent basis after impressing during a brief spell on loan at Rovers in the first half of last season. He scored once in five appearances for the rovers side last season and has now signed a 3 1/2 year contract to return to Doncaster.

The 27-year-old joined West Brom from Hibernian in 2007, making just 25 appearances during his time at The Hawthorns.

Previously at Darlington, the centre-half started this season as a regular in the Albion team, but he has appeared just twice as a late substitute in the Championship since early October.

West Brom land Feyenoord winger Andwele Slory

West Brom have landed Feyenoord winger Andwele Slory for an undisclosed fee on transfer deadline day.

Albion have been looking to sign the odd player in the January transfer window and Roberto Di Matteo has managed to get the Holland international in with hours to spare.

“Everyone knows we’ve been looking to bring in an offensive midfielder with pace and we’re delighted to have signed Andy,” the Italian told the official site.

“He can play wide or through the middle behind the striker and he’ll be a good addition to the squad.”

Slory has penned a five-month contract with the option of another year after completing a medical at the Hawthorns on Monday.

The 27-year-old, was also linked with a move to Blackburn but chose the Albion in the end and could make his Baggies debut at Blackpool on Wednesday so long as international clearance is secured.

“I am very excited to begin this new adventure,” the player told Feyenoord’s official website. “I’ve always dreamed of a foreign adventure.”

Last gasp Brunt saves the night for Albion.

A Chris Brunt injury time goal gave West Brom a deserved point against Ipswich at Portman Road, Albion certainly did not deserve to lost this one.

On a night of great football there was almost 40 shots on goal with the result of a 1 1 draw quite deceiving. Both sides will feel the result is unfair, although without a doubt, the Mariners will feel more cheated than Albion.

Graham Dorrans was again showing how good he is and was the engine in the Albion,s midfield. He was involved in most of Albion’s attacking play, both for delivery and shots too.

Bednar could have had a hat trick before the break, missing 3 decent chances, the best where the Ipswich keeper brought him down 1 on 1 in the box. How a penalty and a red card did not come in to the equation only the ref will know. In typical of late Albion fashion, however, had it not been for Scott Carson being top of his form there would have been a goal deficit too.

Olsson appeared to have won an ariel delivery in to the Albion box with 20 minutes to go when beating Delaney, however, even the Ipswich fans were a little surprised when a penalty was awarded. Grant Leadbitter gave Carson little chance from the spot.

West Brom responded immediately, bringing on Ishamel Miller, however, Ipswich were now going to defend for their lives and moved all but a lone striker in to their own half. They did get a few more chances, however, Albion did not.

The, in the third minute of injury time, Ipswich failed to clear a corner, Simon Cox a late sub had a great shot that was blocked, and in the ensuing scramble, Brunt was able to push the ball in to the net.

Nothing unusual in this though, as Roy Keanes men seem to concede more late goals than anyone else in the league.

Ipswich (4-4-2): Lee-Barrett; Rosenior, McAuley, Delaney, Wright (Balkestein 72); Peters, Norris, Leadbitter, Colback; Stead (Priskin 79), Counago (Edwards 65).
Subs: McLoughlin, Garvan, Martin, John.
Booked: Lee-Barrett, Leadbitter.
West Brom (4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Olsson, Tamas, Cech; Thomas (Teixeira 76), Dorrans, Mulumbu (Cox 80), Koren (Miller 68), Brunt; Bednar.
Subs: Kiely, Mattock, Zuiverloon, Martis.
Booked: Dorrans, Mulumbu, Olsson.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Nuneaton).

Ipswich Albion – team news

West Brom name an unchanged side for the third game in a row, sticking with the team that beat Newcastle 4 2 in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.

Roy Keane rings four changes to the Ipswich team who suffered a 2 1 defeat at Southampton three days ago dumping them out of the FA Cup.

David Wright, Pablo Counago, David Norris and Jon Stead come in, with Jonathan Walters left out altogether, and Owen Garvan, Stern John and Carlos Edwards dropping to the bench.

IPSWICH (4-4-2): Lee-Barrett; Rosenior, McAuley, Delaney, Leadbitter; D Wright, Norris, Peters, Colback; Counago, Stead. Subs: McLoughlin (gk), Garvan, Martin, Balkestein, Priskin, John, Edwards.

ALBION (4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Tamas, Olsson, Cech; Brunt, Koren, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thomas; Bednar. Subs: Kiely (gk), Mattock, Zuiverloon, Martis, Teixeira, Cox, Miller.

Wednesday game moved as FA Cup date set

West Broms Coca-Cola Championship home tie with Sheffield Wednesday, Saturday, February 13 has been moved to Tuesday, March 9 with a 7.45 pm K O, this is due to the Albion’s FA Cup game against Reading.

Albion’s FA Cup fifth-round trip to Reading will take place on February 13 3 pm KO.

If there is no result at Reading and the tie was to go to a replay, the replay will take place at The Hawthorns on Wednesday, February 24 7.45 KO.

West Brom 4 Newcastle 2

First half goals by Olsson and a Dorrans penalty started the four two win for Albion, however, Newcastle made the best star to the 2nd half when striker Andy Carroll pulled a goal back on 62.

Things turned back Albions way when full-back Ryan Taylor was dismissed 19 minutes from time for tripping Jerome Thomas in the box.

Dorrans made no mistake from the spot this time bagging Albion’s third and 5 minutes later Thomas put the tie firmly beyond United’s reach with his first and Albion’s 4th.

Carroll pulled a consolation back by poking home from close range in the first minute of stoppage time.

The result see’s the Albion in the draw for the next round and able to concentrate on the league without the little needed problem of a replay.

Albion came out easy winners this afternoon and have certainly broken the home game hoodoo that they suffered with lately more so, but all season too. Hopefully now they will have the confidence to overall the Toon at the top of the table and go on to win the Championship.

West Brom Newcastle FA Cup preview

As Roberto Di Matteo was happy with the way his team played Monday and the fact that they could have easily come away with all three points, it seems unlikely that he will make more than the odd change if any. Even the rift between Bednar and Di Matteo over the strikers early bath which saw Bednar pulling faces and looking far from happy, they seem to have got over that episode after Roman Bednar apologised.

So, could Albion be playing just 1 up front at home? Will we be back to a weak and poor performance today? Can the Albion make progress in another FA Cup that seems to be without many of the big guns as they did when reaching Wembley a couple of years ago under the same circumstances.

Both Albion and Newcastle are flying pretty high and expecting, hoping for Premiership football next season, will this have a bearing? Who will take less risks to ensure 100% effort is available for the promotion push? Which one of the two will be thinking they can win the cup as they are on top of their form? Which set of players want to win more?

One thing is for certain, both teams will be looking for a result today, neither wants a replay, a replay that would get in the way of promotion. Certainly if it was down to the fans, a day at Wembley and taking home the FA Cup would be as good as promotion for most, however, the respective chairmen would no doubt rather have promotion and an early exit from the cup for the obvious financial implications.

The Championship title-chasers shared a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park on Monday night, the Magpies are unbeaten in 14 consecutive matches in all competitions, but have won just once in their last five, while West Brom have claimed victory in just one of their last four home matches, losing two of those.

With this in mind can anyone predict which way the game will go? Yes Albion are poor at home, especially of late, however, the fact that they came so close on Monday must mean something. Perhaps they will realise that they can beat the Toon and the home hoodoo will be cast aside. This has to be the best scenario for the players to get the home form right, playing the same team 5 days later at home after visiting them and almost winning must give them the boost they need.

The game is unlikely to be a tight affair as both are going to be fighting for the result after 90 minutes, there is likely to be goals which gives for a great chance of some easy trading on Betfair where currently you will find the Albion at 2.36, Newcastle 3.25 and the draw at 3.55. So far today there is not a lot of money available on the market, however ample to turn a good profit if you are fast.

Sky Bet are not offering such good odds with the Albion at 5-4, Newcastle and the draw both being 9-4, however, you can get a free £10 bet there as a new customer.

Bet365 are offering 13-10 on the Albion with the draw 12 – 5 and Newcastle at a very short 2-1 so if you want to back the Albion outright they are the place to go especially as they have in play betting with up to £200 in bonuses free for new West Brom Blog visitors who open an account. They have no less than 31 markets on this game including a super bet – Bednar to score first in a West Brom 2 – 1 win is on offer at 40 – 1 or 75 – 1 if you go for a 2 – 2 draw with Bednar scoring the first.

Albions Haiti support could be doubled.

The webmaster of West Brom Blog (in his capacity as chairman of the GAU), contacted the club yesterday and subsequently spoke to WBA FC Finance director Mr Mark Jenkins today regarding a generous offer made by Bodog founder Calvin Ayre.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation have offered to match any donations made to the DEC fund, inc Oxfam by any person or business in the gambling industry, details can be found here.

Now although not truly in the gambling industry, due to the fact that Albion have deals with online bookies and advertise them on their website this seems to allow them to fit within the foundations criteria.

Albion are auctioning the shirts from Monday nights match and bids can be placed here.

Details of the possibility of doubling the funds raised are now with both the foundation and the club with an offer to both to help in making this come true. So fingers crossed for a massive boost to the fund to help these poor people in Haiti.

The industry has its annual awards next week where the cheque is to be presented to Oxfam from the Calvin Ayre Foundation and it is hoped that the Albion’s donation will be part of this matched amount. Further information on this is available here.

Albion Newcastle report

Peter Lovenkrands dedicated the goal which keeps Newcastle on track for promotion to his late father after he capped an emotionally draining week.

The former Rangers striker was expected to miss Monday night’s clash with third-placed West Bromwich following his father’s death in Denmark. But he made a surprise return and scored the second equaliser – his fourth goal in a week – to earn a point.

Lovenkrands, who scored an FA Cup hat-trick against Plymouth last Wednesday, looked to the heavens and fought back the tears as he celebrated his third league goal of the season in the 54th minute.
He said: ‘It is a bit surreal. It is still emotional but I am just so pleased we got a point and I got a goal for my dad. It means a lot. I dedicated that goal to my father. It was a very difficult decision to play but my dad was a very big football fan and he would have wanted me to do this and I didn’t want to let him down. I felt I wanted to do it for him.’

Manager Chris Hughton, whose side remain six points ahead of Albion and three ahead of Nottingham Forest with a game in hand, said: ‘Lovenkrands deserves immense credit. We left the decision up to him. We are very much behind him and his family but he wanted to play and for him to get a goal – the equalising goal at that -shows great credit to him and also shows the spirit we have here.’

Roberto Di Matteo’s Albion side twice took the lead at St James’ Park, where Newcastle remain unbeaten this season, and they looked on the verge of their first victory there for more than 30 years until Lovenkrands’ second-half strike.

In a full-blooded and thoroughly entertaining scrap between two of the sides relegated last season, West Bromwich took the lead through Jonas Olsson after 14 minutes when he was allowed to touch home a cross from the excellent Graeme Dorrans past Steve Harper.

Danny Guthrie cancelled that out 11 minutes later, placing a delightful free-kick over Yousuff Mulumbu in Scott Carson’s wall after the Rwanda midfielder had brought down Shola Ameobi. But a mere 32 seconds into the second half Roman Bednar put the visitors back in front with another simple goal.

Fabricio Coloccini, the rock on whom Newcastle’s Championship charge has been based, was most at fault after he failed to deal with another cross from the lively Dorrans.

Bednar rose comfortably above Coloccini to head at Harper, who touched the first effort on to the bar with his legs, only for Bednar to nonchalantly nod the ball over the supine keeper.

Read more:at the Mail

Derby Albion report

West Brom lost ground at the top of the Championship after being held to a 2-2 draw by Derby.

The Baggies had looked set to steal all three points after coming from behind to lead 2-1 thanks to late goals from Simon Cox and Graham Dorrans.

But Derby, who had opened the scoring through Paul Dickov, were not to be denied and DJ Campbell grabbed an equaliser deep into stoppage time.

Derby started brightly and carved out an early chance when Lee Croft got clear down the right and his cross just evaded Rob Hulse who was arriving in the six-yard box.

Cox soon responded for Albion with a snap shot from 10 yards out that struck Stephen Bywater. The Derby keeper knew little about it.

Cox then tried his luck with an effort from long range that went narrowly wide.

Albion were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men when Dorrans reacted angrily to a strong challenge from Robbie Savage on the half-hour mark.

The Scot got up and appeared to kick Savage in the chest but referee Darren Deadman only produced a yellow card.

Scott Carson parried a close range effort from Hulse in the 39th minute when County’s leading scorer seemed certain to notch his seventh goal of the season from Gary Teale’s free-kick.

Breakthrough

But there was nothing Carson could do to keep out Dickov’s shot three minutes later.

Read the rest of this report at Sky Sports

Derby Albion preview

West Brom travel to Derby looking to build a massive gap between promotion and third spot in the Championship. Albion are likely to still be sore from the Wembley defeat against Derby in the play offs final back in 2007.

Midfielder Robert Koren will be missing, starting his recovery from a hernia operation but he is expected back in training in no more than three weeks. The Slovenian international is unlikely to feature in any action this side of or during the festive season.

Left-back Joe Mattock is now back in training after missing last Saturdays win at Sheffield Wednesday with a foot injury and will now be challenging Marek Cech to regain his place in Roberto Di Matteo’s first eleven, although Cech must be feeling relaxed that his place is safe after playing such a good game.

Jerome Thomas and Filipe Teixeira are both available although the latter will need to regain a place where Thomas may well keep his place having recovered from a tight hamstring in the Yorkshire game last Saturday.

Bednar and Martis are likely to stay on the bench as they have no ill effects from the suspected flu virus they had.

Derby manager Nigel Clough expects to name an unchanged squad for the visit of second placed Albion.

DERBY COUNTY’S Rob Hulse has warned former club West Brom: We don’t fear anyone at home.

The in-form striker, 30, today faces the promotion-chasing Baggies at Pride Park, where Derby have won their last two matches.

Hulse, who has been linked with a January move to Wolves, scored the winner in both games as Derby came from behind to beat Coventry and Reading.

He said: “We are a lot better at home and, on our day, have no one to be scared of in this division.

“We’re under no illusions because it’s a tough game but we will have a good go at them.”

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Cider Boys defeated as easy as crushing apples

In a game that threatened to put a stop to the Albions winning run, a match that pitted one of the best form teams in the division against  a bouyant Albion, the Baggies pointed out within 12 minutes that the winning streak was to continue.

West Brom massacared Bristol City 4-1 to climb above Newcastle at the Championship summit, although the Toon have a game in hand.

Much of the damage was done inside the first 12 minutes as Jerome Thomas and Chris Brunt both fired home.

A Louis Carey own goal and Simon Cox’s second Championship goal of the season then killed off any hope Bristol City had at the start of the second half, before Paul Hartley netted a consolation in the 83rd minute.

The teams were welcomed on the pitch by very typical British autumn weather, the Black Country was awash, with rain and wind swirling around The Hawthorns. The crowd of over 23,000 were kept warm if not dry by a very entertaining match, although 3,000 of them were doomed to a sad journey back to the cider fields of Bristol.

Gianni Zuiverloon had to clear Cole Skuse’s effort off the line in the 3rd minute, but a fresh Albion side counter atacked at speed and opened the scoring at the other end just 30 seconds later.

Thomas rounded off a sweeping move as he cut in from the left before firing a fierce shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Scott Carson was forced to tip Carey’s header over the crossbar before Brunt doubled West Brom’s lead with just 12 minutes gone.

Scotland midfielder Graham Dorrans found his Northern Irish team-mate with a great throughball and he rounded Dean Gerken before firing home from an acute angle to put the home side in control.

Chances

But Carson was soon called upon to deny the lively Nicky Maynard before Dorrans himself side-footed wide from close range when he really should have put the result beyond doubt.

Chances were coming at either end as City midfielder Hartley then lashed a free-kick inches wide and, with the visitors more than holding their own, the difference at the half-time interval proved to be Albion’s ability to take their chances.

But if the game was still somewhat in the balance at the break then it was all over just two minutes after the restart.

Cox picked up the ball and sent a shot goalwards, which appeared to be going wide, until Carey stepped in to intercept and could only fire the ball into his own net.

Albion were threatening a rout as they made it 4-0 just 53 seconds later – Cox sliding in to convert Marek Cech’s cross from close range and put his name on the scoresheet.

From then on in it was a case of going through the motions for Albion, with Zuiverloon failing to pull the trigger when in a great position to make it 5-0 while Danny Haynes wasted a good chance at the other end.

But the Robins did grab a consolation in the 83rd minute through Hartley’s stunning free-kick, which deserved to be worth more.

The Albion enjoyed a series of superb performances throughout the team – Brunt, Cox, Jara and Zuiverloon were all on top of their game, helping the Albion once again pull clear of the play-off contenders.

Joe Mattock was stretchered off before the break with a foot injury and will undergo xrays this evening to find out the extent of the injury.

Todays four goals took Albion’s total to 11 in three games and sees them top of the Coca-Cola Championship scoring table with 35 from 17 games.

ALBION (4-4-2): Carson, Zuiverloon, Meite, Olsson, Mattock (Cech 30), Brunt, Jara, Dorrans (Mulumbu 57), Thomas, Moore, Cox (Koren 78). Subs not used: Kiely, Wood, Martis, Teixeira.

CITY (3-5-2): Gerken, Carey, McCombe, Nyatanga, Skuse, Elliott (Johnson 78), Sno (Clarkson 78), Hartley, McAllister (Williams 17), Maynard, Haynes. Subs not used: Basso, Fontaine, Sproule, Saborio.

GOALS: ALBION – Thomas (3), Brunt (12), Cox (46, 48). CITY – Hartley (83).

BOOKINGS: ALBION – Cox (simulation 78).

Ref: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

ATTENDANCE: 23,444.

Team Sheet for tonights game.

Albion make just 1 forced change for tonights visit of Swansea, thats Chris Woods in for the injured Roman Bednar.

Scott Carson, Gianni Zuiverloon, Joe Mattock, Jonas Olsson, Gonzalo Jara, Marek Cech, Graham Dorrans, Youssouf Mulumbu, Jerome Thomas, Chris Woods, Luke Moore.

Substitutes: Dean Kiely (GK), Simon Cox, Abdoulaye Meite, Filipe Teixeira, Shelton Martis, Robert Koren, Reuben Reid.

Dorus de Vries; Angel Rangel, Ashley Williams, Alan Tate (C), Marcos Painter; Leon Britton, Darren Pratley, Mark Gower, Cedric van der Gun, Nathan Dyer; Craig Beattie.

Substitutes: David Cornell (GK), Jordi Lopez, Lee Trundle, Joe Allen, Tom Butler, Jazz Richards, Besian Idrizaj.

Ref A D’Urso Essex

First Albion sell out of the season?

The first leg of the Slovenia tour kicks off at 16.30 BST at the Mestni Stadium in Lendava, where West brom take on NK Nafta. As the stadium only has a miserly 2,020 capacity and it is pay on the gate,  the club are warning people to arrive early or suffer upset after travelling such a distance. Has this ever happened before? We have searched records as far back as possible and cannot find any other time that a West Brom friendly has actually been a sell out.

With tickets at only 5 or 8 Euros there will certainly be no complaints about the cost of entry to see what should be an entertaining game. Will Robbie give every fit player a game? He will most certainly be using the game as an insight into how well the players get on as a team, their fitness levels and whether or not they play the game he intends to bring to the Hawthorns. As all the transfer rumours circulate and the activity hots up, Robbie will certainly be looking for replacements from within and will no doubt be looking to see if its worth putting up a fight to keep certain players!  Whatever happens today and whoever gets to pull on the famous blue and white stripes this afternoon,  you can be sure it will be infront of a full house, you can be almost certain that a few of todays players may not actually be playing their football at the Hawthorns this coming season.

A new West Bromwich Albion news and blog site

Westbromblog.co.uk where i will be aiming to keep you up to date with news and events from the Hawthorns

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