West Bromwich Albion will welcome Coventry City to The Hawthorns for their Championship encounter on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides suffered heavy defeats on Easter Monday, with the Baggies conceding four goals away at Nottingham Forest, while the Sky Blues conceded three at home to Bournemouth.
Match preview
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West Brom suffered their 15th league defeat of the season and their heaviest in the Championship since March 2019 when they were beaten 4-0 away at Nottingham Forest, a result which has seemingly ended their slim hopes of a top-six finish.
The Baggies were facing an uphill task when Darnell Furling was sent off in just the 17th minute after receiving two yellow cards in the space of three minutes, and Forest went on to score three first-half goals before Sam Surridge netted in second-half stoppage time to seal a comfortable victory for the hosts.
Steve Bruce's side have dropped down to 12th in the Championship table, six points behind Sheffield United in sixth with just three league games remaining.
Their toughest remaining fixture is arguably on Saturday against a Coventry side who are sitting just one place and two points above them, though they do have a decent record against the Sky Blues, winning six of their last eight meetings against them.
Victory for the Baggies would see them remain in the top half of the table, as they bid to avoid their first bottom-half finish in the second tier since 1999-2000.
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Coventry were unable to follow up impressive away victories against Fulham and Birmingham City with another three points, as they were beaten 3-0 at home against Bournemouth last time out.
Jamal Lowe's opener and a brace from Dominic Solanke condemned the Sky Blues to their 15th defeat of the campaign, and like West Brom, their hopes of finishing in the playoffs are unlikely albeit still mathematically possible.
Mark Robins will be delighted with his side's showing in the second tier this season and even if they miss out on the playoffs, they are on course for their best second-tier finish since the 2005-06 campaign when they finished in eighth place.
Coventry will head to The Hawthorns on Saturday for the first time since March 2010, and they have won only one of their last nine visits to the Baggies.
Victory for the Sky Blues this time around will see them claim three successive away wins in the Championship for the first time since August 2007.
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Team News
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West Brom trio Sam Johnstone (leg), Daryl Dike (hamstring) and Kean Bryan (knee) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Furlong will serve a one-match suspension following his red card on Monday.
Taylor Gardner-Hickman is the most likely candidate to replace Furlong at right wing-back, while Conor Townsend is set to keep his place on the opposite flank.
Top scorer Karlan Grant, who scored in the 2-1 away win over Coventry in the reverse fixture, is expected to lead the line alongside Andy Carroll.
As for Coventry, Matt Godden, Josh Eccles (both calf), Fankaty Dabo (muscle) and Jake Clarke-Salter (groin) are all ruled out with injuries, while Jordan Shipley will be assessed ahead of kickoff after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
Kyle McFadzean could replace Jake Bidwell and join Dominic Hyam and Michael Rose in the back three, with Todd Kane and Ian Maatsen set to continue as the wing-backs.
Martyn Waghorn will also be pushing to start but he may have to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench once again, with Viktor Gyokeres expected to start up front.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Button; Ajayi, Bartley, Clarke; Gardner-Hickman, Mowatt, Livermore, Molumby, Townsend; Carroll, Grant
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Moore; Rose, McFadzean, Hyam; Kane, Allen, Sheaf, Hamer, Maatsen; O'Hare; Gyokeres
We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Coventry City
West Brom and Coventry have both struggled for consistency in recent weeks and so neither team head into Saturday's contest with any momentum.
The Sky Blues could move to within one point of the playoffs with victory at The Hawthorns, but with little to separate these two sides, a score draw may be on the cards.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Bromwich Albion win with a probability of 40.38%. A win for Coventry City had a probability of 33.81% and a draw had a probability of 25.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.67%) and 2-0 (6.81%). The likeliest Coventry City win was 0-1 (8.66%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.25%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
