Mark Lawrenson predicts a tight battle in West Brom v Brighton
Mark Lawrenson predicts a close encounter between West Brom and Brighton at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon – and he can’t pick a winner between the relegation rivals.
Both sides are hovering around the drop zone but one is more firmly entrenched than the other with Albion in 19th and 11 points from Premier League safety while the Seagulls are four points clear of 18th placed Fulham.
A win for Sam Allardyce’s side would really put the cat among the pigeons and pull the south-coast side into their sights, but Lawrenson does not think that will happen.
Writing on the BBC Sport website for his weekly Premier League predictions, Lawrenson said: “You could argue that last week’s results were a travesty for both of these teams.
“West Brom’s 10 men could easily have won by two or three goals at Burnley, but drew 0-0. Brighton deserved a victory by a similar margin against Crystal Palace, but lost in stoppage time.
“West Brom obviously need the points the most. They have improved, but it is an awfully long time since they won at home – 28 November against Sheffield United to be precise.
“So, I am going for a draw here. That would be a better result for Brighton than the Baggies, but they are not out of the woods yet because they have not picked up as many points as they have deserved in recent weeks, not just against Palace.”
The BBC pundit is predicting a 1-1 draw in the West Midlands.
There to be got at
A 1-1 draw just won’t cut the mustard for Albion on Saturday – we simply must pick up all three points.
Time is ticking and we can’t keep praising ourselves for decent performances without coming away with a victory.
We will be coming up against a Brighton side bereft of confidence after their Monday night heartbreak against Crystal Palace where they dominated proceedings only to lose right at the death.
This means they are without a win in four and Albion are primed to take advantage.
Brighton have only scored once in their last three games and after Sam Johnstone recorded the first clean sheet of the Big Sam era against Burnley last time out, West Brom should now be confident of securing successive shut-outs.
We just need to find that all-important goal.
The reverse fixture on October 26 saw the same scoreline that Lawrenson is predicting this weekend after Karlan Grant’s first, and to date only, Baggies goal saw him level the match late on after Jake Livermore’s first-half own-goal.
Let’s hope for more luck on Saturday.
In other West Brom news, see our exclusive with Kevin Phillips to see which Albion ace he is backing despite criticism by some fans.
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