West Bromwich Albion vs Middlesbrough

5th November

West Bromwich Albion will be on the hunt for a fifth successive home victory in the Sky Bet Championship when Middlesbrough come to town on Saturday afternoon (ko 3pm).

The Baggies won 1-0 against Hull City on Wednesday night courtesy of Karlan Grant’s eighth goal of the season, and his fifth in his last four games at The Hawthorns.

That victory followed on from previous B71 triumphs over QPR, Birmingham City and Bristol City, and boss Valérien Ismaël will want his side to keep building momentum in front of their supporters.

Opponents Middlesbrough arrive sitting in the middle of the Championship pack, having taken 21 points from their opening 16 matches.

Neil Warnock’s group have had a mixed bag of results so far, winning five and losing six of their last 11 games.

They’ve suffered back-to-back defeats against Birmingham at home on Saturday and Luton away on Tuesday night.

.@karlangrant scores goals. 🎯

Check out the action from The Hawthorns as we secured our fourth successive home victory.
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) November 4, 2021

How to follow the game

Fans based in the UK who don’t have a seasonal or monthly subscription to WBA TV Matchday can purchase an audio match pass for live Baggies-biased commentary for just £2.50.

Coverage will start at 2.50pm and a full-match replay will be available to watch the following day.

Fans based outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland who don’t have an existing subscription can purchase a video match pass and watch all of the action live for just £10.

To buy your pass, click here.

To access your live coverage, click here.

Opposition

Middlesbrough head to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon hoping to bounce back from consecutive Sky Bet Championship defeats.

Neil Warnock’s men were beaten at home by Birmingham last weekend and then suffered a midweek loss at Luton.

Boro had won three on the spin before their clash with Birmingham, and Warnock will know adding consistency to their results could prove crucial if they are to secure a top-half position this year.

The Teessiders have finished 10th or higher in three of the past four seasons since their relegation from the Premier League, but only once in that time did they earn a spot in the play-offs.

Tuesday’s defeat at Kenilworth Road ended a six-game run where their matches had finished with a 2-0 scoreline – winning four of those and losing the other two.

Boro's Paddy McNair celebrates scoring against Peterborough in October

Classic clash

Albion beat Boro 3-0 in January 2009 in the Premier League.

Chris Brunt, Marc Antoine-Fortune and Robert Koren were all on target at The Hawthorns.

Did you know?

The home team has only won one of the last six meetings between the Albion and Boro.

Boro's 1-0 win against the Baggies at the Riverside in August 2018 was the only time it has happened during that period, with the away team claiming two victories. The other three games all ended in draws.

Middlesbrough won 2-0 at The Hawthorns the last time they visited

Read all about it

A special Remembrance edition of Albion News will be available on Saturday afternoon.

But the usual instalments remain the same with big interviews from the gaffer, skipper Jake Livermore, Jayson Molumby, Caleb Taylor and so much more.

It's not one to be missed, so get your hands on a copy of this weekend's dedicated Remembrance programme online here or secure yours on the day of the game, with programmes available from several stalls in and around The Hawthorns.

LV BET's latest odds

Albion are favourites at 5/7 (1.72) to beat Middlesbrough this Saturday.

After getting his name back on the scoresheet against Hull City, West Bromwich Albion's top scorer Karlan Grant (eight goals) comes in at 9/1 (10.00) to score a brace and at 3/2 (2.50) to get his ninth goal of the season.

The Baggies are at 29/4 (8.25) to claim all three points on offer with a 2-0 scoreline. You can also back Albion to score over 2.0 goals at 23/10 (3.30) - a feat they've achieved three times at The Hawthorns this season, four times in total.

Check out the new LV BET Bet £10 Get £10 customer offer here. 18+ begambleaware.org. Terms apply. Odds are subject to change.

6th November

Grady Diangana’s first goal of the season secured a point for Albion against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon at The Hawthorns.

Josh Coburn’s fierce effort gave the away side the lead at the halfway stage, but a battling Baggies effort in the second 45 saw Diangana net the equaliser on his return to the starting XI.

The game was disrupted by an early injury to Matt Clarke after 19 minutes, with few chances to follow during the first 45.

There was good early link-up play between Callum Robinson, Grady Diangana and Jayson Molumby as the hosts looked to open the visitors up. But the last pass was just evading them in the final third as the Baggies’ attacking play showed early potential.

In a half of few chances, Boro's Duncan Watmore was left in space to have the game’s first shot on goal six yards out. Yet, off balance, the forward shanked his effort over.

Sadly, Boro’s chance in the area was a sign of things to come as just minutes after Watmore’s wayward effort, they found the opener when Albion failed to clear their lines, allowing an unmarked Coburn to rifle a shot past a stranded Johnstone from just a few yards.

Still, the Baggies didn’t relent and not for the first time during the opening minutes, they found joy down the right as Robinson nearly threaded a piercing ball across the box and into Karlan Grant’s path.

Unfortunately, retreating Boro defenders closed off Albion’s No.18 to deny him and ensure they went in 1-0 up at The Hawthorns.

Conor Townsend led the charge for Albion after the break, marauding forward before laying a good pass to Robert Snodgrass on the edge of the box for a shot. However, the resulting effort from the Scotsman went over, but clear intent gave the hosts a platform to build off.

As momentum was building, so were the chances and substitute Bartley almost flicked a Darnell Furlong long throw past an unsighted Luke Daniels in the Boro goal. And despite the ball heading towards the bottom corner, the keeper reacted well to claw it away.

But his smart reactions could do nothing to stop Diangana smashing in the Baggies equaliser, after Snodgrass' free-kick was knocked down into open space, leaving the lively attacker free to smash a brilliant volley in off the post to level the scores.

The goalscorer nearly turned provider shortly after as he, Hugill and Grant created a nice flowing passing move to leave the latter with a chance to shoot. Daniels was behind the shot, though, and for the second game running Albion’s No.1 was needed to preserve his side a share of the points.

Boro’s dangerous corner deep into added time looked to have been flicked in by an onrushing head, but England international Johnstone remained focused to punch away the danger and help the hosts maintain their unbeaten home league run.

Albion: Johnstone; Kipre, Clarke (Bartley 19), Townsend; Furlong, Molumby, Snodgrass, Reach; Grant, Robinson (Hugill 46), Diangana.

Substitutes: Button, Ajayi, Ingram, Gardner-Hickman, Phillips.

Attendance: 22,596

Saturday 6th November 2021 - 15:00