Sunday’s solitary Premier League match will see a rejuvenated West Brom take on Burnley at the Hawthorns. The Baggies have generally been successful at home against the Clarets as they have recorded seven wins in their last eight encounters.
But Burnley had the last laugh when these sides met in the fourth round of the FA Cup in January 2009 as they knocked West Brom out thanks to a 3-1 victory in a replay.
The Baggies are looking ahead after a busy summer and a stuttering start to their campaign. They pulled off one of the most surprising results of the season when they left White Hart Lane with maximum points after defeating Tottenham 0-1 last weekend. They followed that up with a dramatic win in which two late goals saw Alan Irvine’s men come from behind to beat Hull City in the Capital One Cup in midweek.
Standing in their way of a third victory in as many matches is a Burnley side that has kept three clean sheets in their last three games. The Clarets may be very solid at the back but they are finding the Premier League very difficult as they have only managed one goal in their opening game against Chelsea.
They have since gone for five games without getting on the scoresheet thanks in part to injuries that have depleted their options in forward positions. The closest they have came to scoring recently was when Scott Arfield failed to convert a penalty against Crystal Palace.
West Bromwich Albion team news
Brown Ideye will face a late fitness test ahead of West Brom’s clash with Burnley on Sunday. The Nigerian centre forward injured himself in bizarre fashion in midweek when celebrating his strike against Hull City, and is doubtful for Sunday’s tie.
Chris Baird is suffering illness and will be assessed before kick-off
Burnley team news
David Jones is a doubt, but should be fine to feature in midfield.
Danny Ings (hamstring), Matthew Taylor (Achilles) and Sam Vokes (knee) will all be sidelined with injury
Predictions
Alan Irvine will probably retain most of the players that started in the 0-1 away win against Tottenham. That should include Ideye as a centre forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation should he be fit to start.
Neither side are very good at keeping the ball but the Baggies are at home and will be more confident following their recent wins, so they will likely take the game to the Clarets.
West Brom are not the most dangerous side at home and their record of just two wins at the Hawthorns this calendar year is testament to that, so Sean Dyche will be comfortable to let his side generally defend their own half. The chronic problem in front of goal for the Clarets will likely continue to haunt them as the likes of Ings and Vokes are still out.
They will still try to play long balls to Lukas Jutkiewicz, then hope that players like Marvin Sordell and George Boyd win the second balls. It is difficult to see Burnley scoring in this game but they could get another 0-0 draw.
