It's the fourth game in 10 days for Championship clubs, and the first of the new year when they return for a full slate of 12 games on Monday. One of the teams involved is West Brom, a side in the playoff spots, and looking to further emphasise their place in that race, they travel away from home to Wales, with Swansea their opponents.
Swansea Form GuideSwansea are still without a manager after sacking Micahel Duff, and if truth be told, they do look a little like a side who are without a captain leading the ship right now. I don't think they're doing any worse than before, but are seemingly in desperate need of direction.
It's been one win, one loss and one draw from the festive period so far, so this game will determine how fans feel after things, when Swansea have time to breathe after this one. The loss was bad, a 5-0 defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day, while the win was a 2-1 success over Preston, and the draw was a 2-2 tie away at Coventry, something I see as a good point for Swansea.
West Brom Form Guide12 points behind second placed Ipswich, West Brom probably already know that the chances of automatic promotion are incredibly slim, so their main goal at the moment will be to solidify their position in the playoffs. They have 42 points, that puts them five points ahead of Sunderland, the first team outside of the playoff race.
The festive fixtures looked tough for West Brom, so they'll be delighted with what they've taken so far. A loss kicked them off, 1-0 at Middlesbrough, but since then they've won two games by the same 1-0 scoreline, at home to Norwich and at home to Leeds. A win here and they'll be thrilled with nine points from those four games.
Match PredictionI am going to go with the in form West Brom to round off their festive period in style, and win this game away from home at Swansea. The home side set an average bar to hit, I think West Brom are better than average.
