Premier League preview and odds: West Bromwich Albion vs. Sunderland

Published on: 15/10/2015

Premier League preview and odds: West Bromwich Albion vs. Sunderland

October 17, 2015 15:00pm The Hawthorns

Premier League

The Premier League will welcome one new face and one old face to the dugouts on Saturday when Jurgen Klopp takes over the reins at Liverpool and Sam Allardyce jumps into the Sunderland hot seat for the trip to West Brom.

West Brom looking to avoid third straight defeat

Big Sam`s first challenge will be to take on a West Brom team that has lost two matches on the bounce and slipped to 17th place in the table, just five points above Sunderland.

The Baggies put in a disappointing display away to Crystal Palace last time out and prior to that, they threw away a two-goal lead in the home defeat to Everton.

Tony Pulis` men still have a four-point cushion to the relegation zone and will be keen to increase that gap when they host the league`s bottom-ranked team this weekend.

Is Sam the man to save Sunderland?

Following the departure of Dutch Coach Dick Advocaat, Sunderland have called upon the services of former West Ham boss Sam Allardyce. As one of the leagues most experienced bosses, Big Sam will be tasked with leading the northeast team to safety this term.

With just three points on the board after eight games, the new Black Cats boss has his work cut out but this is the environment in which Big Sam thrives.

In their last match, the Mackems held West Ham to a 2-2 draw to earn their third point of the season. They are level on points with struggling rivals Newcastle but remain above them thanks to superior goal difference.

No team has conceded more goals in the league than Sunderland and this will be the first area that the new boss will need to address.

Team news

For the home side, James Morrison, Jonny Evans and Jonas Olsoon are all on the doubtful list. Meanwhile, the visitors will be without Adam Matthews but could welcome back Younes Kaboul who has recovered from a knee injury.

Recent form (League)

West Bromwich Albion: LLWDW

Sunderland: DLLLD

Betting odds and tips

West Brom have yet to win at home, having lost three and drawn one of their games at the Hawthorns, and their opponents have yet to win away, having also lost three and drawn one. As a result, the draw looks like the best bet for this match and can be backed at 5/2 with Betfred and Totesport.

Published on: 15/10/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (15/10/2015 11:49:16) but are subject to change.