West Brom dealt ‘huge damage after phenomenal scenes’ v Bristol City
Jobi McAnuff has offered a grim verdict after West Brom suffered a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City.
Tony Mowbray‘s side dropped to eighth place in the Championship after the heartbreaking late loss at Ashton Gate (8 April).
The result leaves the Baggies three points behind Middlesbrough, who occupy the final playoff place with five matches left to play before the campaign concludes.
Albion still have a chance to secure a place in the end-of-season showcase but they would require other results to go in their favour, rather than controlling their own destiny.
McAnuff offers damaging West Brom prediction after Bristol City loss
Mowbray can still guide West Brom to the playoffs but they would require a huge turnaround in form and other teams to lose momentum.
McAnuff believes that the late nature of the defeat on Tuesday may affect the Baggies in a negative way and could spell danger for their chances of making the top six.
Speaking on 72+: The EFL podcast (9 April), he said: “I think it was a game that summed up where both teams are at the moment.
“Going on to get a last-minute winner against one of your rivals, the damage that can do to West Brom can be huge, versus the lift and the mood, you look at the scenes around Ashton Gate, it was absolutely phenomenal.
“They definitely feel like a team that are taking the initiative, where others are stumbling a little bit, West Brom, in particular, were a team that I really thought would kick on and cement their place in the playoffs but that has not happened.”
West Brom need big finish to seal Championship promotion chance
Albion needs a huge finish to secure a place in the playoffs and a chance to secure promotion to the Premier League.
The Baggies have a favourable fixture list in their last five matches, hosting Watford (12 April) before a trip to fellow playoff hopefuls Coventry (18 April) that could well define their season.
| Championship | Played | GD | Points |
| 6. Middlesbrough | 41 | +11 | 60 |
| 7. Coventry | 41 | +4 | 59 |
| 8. West Brom | 41 | +11 | 57 |
They then face three relegation-threatened teams to end the campaign with a trip to Cardiff (26 April) in between home matches with Derby (21 April) and Luton (3 May).
If they can stay in touch until the last three matches, they may have a chance to salvage their playoff hopes and make it a successful Championship campaign, but right now, it looks like they will fail.
They need their key players to step up in the final few weeks and banish the disappointment from the late loss to the Robins and use it as motivation to achieve their ambitions.
If they do not secure a top-six finish, Mowbray may be in danger of losing his job as fan discontent will go up a notch.