West Brom welcome Brighton in Hawthorns’ relegation battle

Saturday’s fixture sees two teams in desperate need of a win battle for survival in the Premier League.

Sam Allardyce’s side look for a huge turnaround, currently sitting 19^th in the Premier League table, 11 points from safety and without a win in the last six as relegation looms.

The Baggies showed signs of improvement in recent matches after picking up points against Manchester United and recently to Burnley but still look for their first league win since January.

The hosts had to hold on since the 30^th minute when Semi Ajayi was shown a red card for a deliberate handball on the Weekend. Despite that, the West Midlands side wasted a number of huge chances in the second half and failed to take all three points on what was one of their best performances since Allardyce took charge.

Brighton were left frustrated in their last outing in the Premier League against rivals Crystal Palace on Monday.

Despite largely dominating the possession and having 25 shots on goal, the Seagulls were hit by a stoppage-time winner as they suffered their first Premier League defeat in seven.

Jean-Phillipe Mateta scored his first goal for the Eagles since his move in January. The Seagulls responded within 10 minutes of the second half as Dutch defender Joel Veltman equalised.

The Seagulls looked to grab the winner but were left with plenty of missed opportunities and paid the price as substitute Christian Benteke volleyed home to grab the victory for Roy Hodgson’s side.

The visitors have looked good in recent matches, following wins against Liverpool and Tottenham but have been let down by poor finishing and now remain four points above the relegation zone.

Matheus Pereira has netted five times in the Premier League for the Baggies this season and will look to carry on his excellent form in front of goal.

Neal Maupay has struggled for goals this season, having not scored in his last six but will look to test Sam Johnstone who has conceded 53 league goals this season, more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League

A win would see the Midlands side move seven points behind Fulham, with still a lot of work to do but a move in the right direction. Brighton can go 15^th with a victory depending on how other results go.

Last time out

The two teams shared the points in their last outing at the Amex earlier in the season.

Tariq Lamptey’s cross was knocked in by the unfortunate Jake Livermore in the first half but late on in the second half, Karlan Grant scored his first West Brom goal to earn a point for the visitors.

Brighton have won two out of their five fixtures against their opponents, with one defeat and two draws coming between both of these sides.

Team News

West Brom

Sam Allardyce confirmed Robert Snodgrass won’t be risked on Saturday. The Scotsman was left out of their previous match with the Clarets with a knee injury and is now carrying a slight calf problem but the West Brom boss expects him to be fully fit in their next game.

Semi Ajayi is suspended following his red card against Burnley which could mean Dara O’Shea or Kyle Bartley to replace the 27-year-old.

Kieran Gibbs is still out but Lee Peltier and Grady Diangana who hasn’t played since the start of January with injury were in the squad last weekend and could start.

Brighton

The South Coast side will look to call back Tariq Lamptey from injury after Graham Potter confirmed he was back in training and will be in the squad.

However, Adam Webster is still out and won’t be back until after the international break, whilst Jose Izquierdo, Florin Andone and Solly March are all still unavailable for selection.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh returned from injury in Brighton’s astonishing defeat to Crystal Palace.

Potter will look to find ways to improve his side’s finishing with Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana pushing for their place in the side on the weekend.