‘Mason has no excuses’ after what Opta’s now revealed about West Brom
West Brom’s Championship fixtures for the 2025/26 campaign have now been released.
Anticipation is high for the new season, with Ryan Mason now in The Hawthorns dugout.
There is an expectation that the Baggies will at least be fighting for the playoffs, with fans dreaming of a Premier League return.
However, some are sceptical about this possibility given West Brom is Mason’s first permanent managerial position.
West Brom handed easiest Championship opening fixtures
Upon the fixture release yesterday, it was clear that West Brom had kind opening matches.
The Baggies start the season at home to Blackburn Rovers before games against Wrexham, Portsmouth and Stoke City.
Of these four opponents, two were a relegation battle last season, and Wrexham were in League One.
As a result, when analysing how difficult the opening four matches are in the Championship, Opta believe that West Brom have the easiest start.
The supercomputer gives the Baggies’ first four matches a rating of 79.9, which puts the Black Country club bottom of the table in terms of most difficult fixtures to begin with.
That is followed by Leicester, QPR and Watford (each 80).
In comparison, Middlesbrough are believed to have the toughest start, with Opta giving them a rating of 82.5.
| West Brom’s opening four Championship fixtures | Date |
| West Bromwich Albion v Blackburn Rovers | 9 August |
| Wrexham v West Bromwich Albion | 16 August |
| West Bromwich Albion v Portsmouth | 23 August |
| Stoke City v West Bromwich Albion | 30 August |
While many Baggies fans may have let Mason off if he had a poor start, now that the fixtures have been released, the manager has no excuse.
Experience or not, West Brom should be looking at getting seven points at an absolute minimum from their opening four matches.
If not, early questions are likely to be asked about Mason if he fails to convincingly beat these teams.
Momentum is key for Mason this season
In the 2024/25 campaign, West Brom had a fantastic start and were at one point top of the Championship.
However, eventually the momentum died with the Baggies going on an horrific winless streak.
If playoffs are to be achieved this season, momentum will be key for Mason, and these opening fixtures could be the perfect catalyst for the manager.
Now, all that is needed is for West Brom to produce these results on the pitch.
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