View: Can’t create, can’t defend – Woeful West Brom cut adrift at bottom of yet another PL table
It has certainly been a trying season for West Brom fans and this has been further underlined in a statistic that shows just how poor we have been at both ends of the pitch.
There is no hiding place in the Premier League and it has been abundantly clear for all to see that Albion have the worst defence alongside a blunt attack.
They have conceded 48 Premier League goals this season, 12 more than the next highest in Crystal Palace, while only Sheffield United (12) and Burnley (13) can lay claim to registering less goals than West Brom (15).
On the basis of this table by ‘TheOther14‘ Albion are actually lucky to be in 19th position.
The figures show that West Brom have the lowest xG and the highest xGA from outside the traditional ‘big six’, though they would obviously remain record holders in both categories even with them in.
Their totals of 12.9 xG and 37.6 xGA do not even come close to the rest of the league showing just how awful Albion have been in every aspect this season.
West Brom’s xG – xGA of -24.7 is more than double their nearest rivals Burnley (-12.1) and nearly triple rock-bottom Sheffield United who did not win a game until January 12.
Will this change any time soon?
Well, the arrival of Robert Snodgrass and Mbaye Diagne should certainly help share the attacking burden on the Baggies.
Snodgrass has registered at least five assists in every league campaign since the beginning of 2016/17 so he certainly has an eye for creating chances.
While much blame has to be laid at the door of the Albion midfielders who have failed to create many clear-cut chances the forwards cannot count themselves completely unfortunate.
Karlan Grant’s xG in the Premier League is 2.74 [Wyscout] but he only has a single goal to his name which was all the way back on October 26 in a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
Big Sam will be hoping the arrival of Diagne will change all of that.
The Senegal striker joined West Brom on a loan deal on Friday after hitting 11 goals for Galatasaray this season and could bring some all-important clinical finishing to their play.
However there is no news on defensive reinforcements being brought in, though the expected arrival of a combative midfielder in Okay Yokuslu should help shore things up.
In other West Brom news, see our exclusive interview with Kevin Phillips for his verdict on an imminent midfield signing.
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