West Brom v Fulham: Cottagers can claim top honours

“Fulham have claimed 10 wins from 13 Championship outings since Christmas (W10-D2-L1), plundering an eye-watering 39 goals during that impressive sequence”

West Brom pinch late point

West Brom boss Steve Bruce said he was pleased with the spirit and determination his Baggies players showed after they produced a thrilling fightback against Huddersfield on Friday night. With just six minutes remaining, Albion were trailing 2-0 with both goals involving errors from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone at a despondent Hawthorns.

But out of nowhere, WBA produced a late rally to snatch a share of the spoils – with Karlan Grant netting a penalty in the 84th minute and Andy Carroll scoring again 60 seconds later. Incredibly, the Baggies could – and should – have then gone on to win it. In the 90th minute, Callum Robinson’s played in Grant, who turned in the box before smashing the woodwork.

Speaking post-match, Bruce said: “At least there was a bit of a spirit, a bit of determination, a bit of fight. They didn’t give it up, which I thought we did too easily against Swansea a few weeks ago. We’re disappointed because we gifted them something but we’ll take a point. When you’re 2-0 down at home with five minutes remaining, it shows some resilience.”

Fulham held at struggling Barnsley

Harry Wilson’s magnificent late equaliser helped Championship leaders Fulham avoid a shock defeat at struggling Barnsley on Saturday. Trailing to a highly-contentious penalty on the stroke of half-time, the table-topping Whites looked set to return home empty-handed before Wilson picked the ball up in the 86th minute and curled the ball into the top corner.

Fulham dominated long periods of the second half but were unable to find a way past a well-drilled Tykes defence before Wilson’s intervention late on. And the Cottagers playmaker could have even sealed all three points for Marco Silva’s troops deep into stoppage-time but the Welshman headed over with the goal at his mercy.

Post-match, Silva felt his team had done enough to earn top honours. He said, “We have created enough to win this game. It is difficult conditions to play good football on that pitch also. Too long and too dry. It is no excuse for us of course because we have enough chances to score. It wasn’t our best level, but we equalised. It is one more point for us.”

West Brom are winless in their last 12 league meetings with Fulham since 2010 (W0-D7-L5) with Albion seeing four of their last five head-to-head encounters at The Hawthorns ending all-square (W0-D1-L4). The Baggies have only suffered a solitary home reverse to the Whites here in 20 years but were beaten 3-0 in the reverse fixture back in October.

West Brom 3.8514/5 sit seven points off the top-six with the bottom-half dwellers returning just W7-D7-L12 since the start of October – only four second-tier clubs have collected fewer points in that sample, with the hosts failing to even score in 12 of their 19 league fixtures since November’s international break. More recently, Albion have won twice in 14 outings.

Fulham 2.1211/10 have claimed 10 wins from 13 Championship outings since Christmas (W10-D2-L1), plundering an eye-watering 39 goals during that impressive sequence. Marco Silva’s men have have proven dominant against the league’s lesser lights, yet the Whites haven’t been quite so consistent at top-14 teams, boasting only four away wins (W4-D2-L2).

West Brom’s games have averaged only 2.03 goals per-game – the third-lowest figure in the Championship with at least one team failing to score in 24/36 (67%) of their overall fixtures. Just four of Albion’s last 21 encounters have produced Over 2.5 Goals 1.8810/11, whilst the Baggies have struck multiple goals in only five of their last 26 league dates.

In contrast, Fulham’s fixtures have featured 3.43 goals per-game away from Craven Cottage with the visitors racking up 45 goals in 17 away days. Maro Silva’s men have fired a solitary blank on their travels and should boast the required firepower to claim a 12th success on their travels. A Fulham win appeals at 2.1211/10 quotes and is our preferred play.