15th Aug 2013 | Football
West Bromwich Albion 2013-14 Preview
The Baggies finished 8th last time but the stats show this owed everything to the first half of the campaign.
To finish top 10: 7/4 (StanJames)
Last season: 8th
Reasons for hope:
Nobody expected any great shakes 12 months ago and the Baggies finished a brilliant eighth. Steve Clarke has a year’s managerial experience under his belt now and will be given plenty of time even if there is a slow start; something that couldn’t be said with such confidence when he arrived last summer. Anelka and Vydra are interesting new attacking options.
Potential bet: Top WBA league goalscorer - Matej Vydra: 3/1 (Skybet)
Reasons to worry:
If last season had begun on New Year’s Day then Albion would have been fully embroiled in a relegation fight. Their last 18 matches yielded just 16 points, that’s two less than Wigan tallied over the same period, and the Latics went down. Throw in the fact that Lukaku was pivotal, finding the net 17 times in the league alone, and he is now back at Chelsea.
Potential bet: WBA to be relegated: 9/1 (BetVictor)
Verdict:
Looking over their shoulders. Anelka’s best days are behind him and Vydra’s may be a year or two away, so Lukaku will be badly missed.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 23:36 15th Aug, 2013 but subject to change
