West Bromwich Albion will secure a record fifth promotion to the Premier League if they beat Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night. Results elsewhere at the weekend kept the fate of the Baggies in their own hands despite defeat at Huddersfield Town on Friday. Now, the task for Slaven Bilić’s men is simple – win the game and it’s top-flight football next season.
West Bromwich Albion Look to Secure Promotion
Queens Park Rangers Visit West Bromwich Albion
West Brom have not fallen from the automatic promotion places since October but they could still finish fourth, depending on results from the final round of Championship fixtures. They will be desperate to drag themselves over the line with victory against QPR, rendering the results of Brentford and Fulham redundant.
Albion are winless in their last three games. They earned draws against Blackburn Rovers and Fulham before suffering defeat against Huddersfield. But this is not an easy place to go, only three teams have left The Hawthorns with maximum points this season.
Queens Park Rangers are stranded mid-table, and are unable to climb much higher and are safe from relegation. A seven-goal thriller at home against Millwall last time out saw them end their own three game winless run. But they’ve won just two of their last eight games and have only won two games on the road since December.
Second-half goals from Nathan Ferguson and Matheus Pereira saw West Brom capture a 2-0 victory when these sides met in August. Albion have won the last three meetings, with QPR scoring 12 and conceding just three. That goal tally massively boosted by the Baggies’ 7-1 win in this fixture last season.
Team News
West Brom are still without Kieran Gibbs, he hasn’t featured since their 4-2 win against Hull City earlier this month. He was forced off with a recurring hamstring injury having struggled all season to stay fit. Otherwise it’s a clean bill of health for Slaven Bilić.
Mark Warburton has confirmed that Bright Osayi-Samuel is nearing a move away from the club. He did not feature against Millwall and that is expected to be the case again at The Hawthorns. Angel Rangel is facing a lengthy spell out with a torn Achilles.
Prediction
Slaven Bilić admitted that Albion “crumbled under the pressure” against Huddersfield. He will be hoping that his side have learned from that performance. Defeat for them opens the door for Brentford and Fulham, they must win.
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Queens Park Rangers
Main Photo
