West Brom promotion chances predicted by supercomputer ahead of Blackburn clash
West Brom reignited their promotion push at the weekend and currently sit in the Championship play-off places.
The Baggies’ 2-1 victory at the death against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday took them back up to fifth in the table after losing by the same scoreline to bottom side Plymouth in their previous match.
Having dropped to a season low of eighth in the weeks after Carlos Corberan’s Christmas Eve exit, Tony Mowbray’s arrival has helped to galvanise the Baggies, who are now three points clear of seventh.
Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland have pulled away to form a top four with the latter 12 points clear of fifth, but as was the case last term, Albion are proving to be the best of the rest thus far.
Supercomputer predicts West Brom final league position
The Opta Analyst supercomputer has updated its predictions for the final Championship table after the latest round of fixtures was concluded on 9 February – a round disrupted by FA Cup postponements.
Despite Middlesbrough having a game in hand on the Baggies ahead of West Brom hosting Blackburn on 12 February, Albion are still predicted to record a fifth-placed finish come season’s end.
The Baggies have a 63.96 per cent chance of going up via the play-offs and are predicted to finish with 70 points, two clear of Boro – who pip Blackburn to sixth place – on 69 points of their own.
West Brom well place to book back-to-back play-off campaigns
Although a three-point cushion with 15 games still to play means next to nothing at this stage of the season, Albion are certainly showing that they’ve got what it takes to reach the play-offs again.
As things stand – both in the current table and Opta’s predicted final standings – the Baggies could end their season in an eerily similar fashion to last term, facing the team which finishes fourth; Sunderland.
Just as was the case in last season’s semi-finals with Southampton, a trip to a team playing in red and white stripes looks to be in the offing for West Brom fans, who’ll be hoping for a better outcome this time.
Southampton showed last May that their 12-point gap to the Baggies in the final table was no fluke, beating them 3-1 on aggregate with all four goals across the tie coming in the second leg at St. Mary’s.
Sunderland’s lead over Mowbray’s side in the current table already stands at 12 points, and Opta predict that to stretch to 13 by the end of the season, pitting the odds firmly against Albion come the play-offs.
First, though, the Baggies have to get there, and with over half-a-dozen sides still firmly in contention for a place in the top six, there’s still plenty of distance left to run in the Championship promotion race.