It’s an important match at The Hawthorns today, with both West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City needing a win to give them a bit of breathing space (10 a.m. ET; watch live online via NBC Sports Live Extra).
This should make for an interesting matchup. Oddly enough, despite being three places behind West Brom in the standings, Norwich actually have more wins -- the Baggies are just better at grabbing a draw, with six compared to Norwich’s two. But, despite a late midweek comeback at the Hawthorns, West Brom were unable to snatch a draw against Manchester City. That leaves the hosts without a win in their last four and in danger of being pushed toward the bottom three.
Still, the Albion are not in as much danger as Norwich. Yes, they’re just a point behind the Baggies, but their inconsistency, coupled with their tendency to lose dramatically -- 5-1 at Liverpool midweek, and remember the 7-0 thrashing by Manchester City -- means Chris Hughton fights a pretty consistent battle for his job. It won’t help that they’re without Robert Snodgrass, who’s scored in the last two matches, thanks to a knee injury. Gary Hooper does return, though, after starting the last match on the bench.
Lineups
West Bromwich Albion: Myhill, Jones, McAuley, Lugano, Ridgewell, Yacob, Mulumbu, Amalfitano, Sessegnon, Brunt, Anichebe
Subs: L Daniels, Dawson, Long, Vydra, Popov, Morrison, Berahino
Norwich City: Ruddy; Whittaker, Turner, Bassong, Olsson; Redmond, Howson, Johnson, Fer, Elmander, Hooper
Subs: Nash, Martin, Hoolahan, Garrido, Becchio, R Bennett, Josh Murphy