The Pilgrims travel to the Hawthorns this weekend, where they will take on West Brom. The hosts are the favourites to pick up three points but Plymouth will be desperate to cause an upset.
West Brom
We are eleven games into the Championship season and the Baggies are currently in 11th place, with 16 points. West Brom are the joint fifth highest scorers this season and they seem to have no trouble scoring at home or on their travels, as they have only failed to score twice. West Brom also boast a respectable defensive record, conceding just over one goals per game. Carlos Corberan’s side have won three out of their five home matches and only lost one.
Despite taking the lead early on through John Swift, the Baggies tasted defeat last week for the first time in five games, as they lost 3-1 away to rivals Birmingham. The hosts equalised in the 25th minute via the penalty spot and by half time they had completed the comeback. West Brom enjoyed the majority of the ball but struggled to break down the opposition, who ultimately added the third just before full time.
Plymouth
Although the Pilgrims were promoted this season, they have stuck with the principles that were successful last season and adopted a fearless attitude. Plymouth are in 18th place after eleven matches, picking up 11 points. However, they have the fourth worst away record in the league and are yet to win a match on the road in five attempts. Their goalscoring ability on the road has been poor also, netting only four times in five games. They have also not kept a clean sheet in their last six matches.
Plymouth’s most recent match was a 3-1 defeat to Swansea city at home. Luke Cundle gave the Pilgrims the lead in the 18th minute and they went into the break with a one goal advantage. Despite having been a goal up, Steven Schumacher’s men continued to apply pressure, which left them vulnerable at the back. Swansea took advantage of this, tallied up 1.63 XG and scored three goals.
Verdict?
West Brom have been strong at home and Plymouth have been poor on the road, which makes it fair to presume that the hosts will walk away with three points. They are also in slightly better form and they will be desperate to redeem themselves.
The final prediction is West Brom 2-1 Plymouth.
