The Coventry Building Society Arena

Wednesday 21st December 2022 - 19:45
Coventry
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West Brom
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Key Events

John Swift's red third shirt hanging up in the dressing room

The Baggies are back on their travels on Wednesday night, making the short trip to Coventry City in what will be the club's final game before Christmas (ko 7.45pm). 

Albion head into the festive fixture in fine form, taking maximum points (15) from their last five matches.

Carlos Corberán's side recorded a very comfortable 3-0 victory over Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon, a result which lifted them to within five points of the play-off positions with a game in hand.

Hosts Coventry City are two places and one point above the Baggies. Mark Robins' Sky Blues threw away a three-goal lead against Swansea City at the weekend, with the Welsh outfit on target three times in 16 second-half minutes to take away a point. 

The Coventry Building Society Arena is Wednesday's venue

Follow the game live

Supporters can listen to live audio commentary of Albion's clash with Coventry City on Wednesday night on WBA Radio. Audio passes can be purchased for £2.50 here.

Albion fans outside the United Kingdom can watch the game live on WBA TV. A video match pass is available to purchase for £10 here.

Live updates will also be posted across the club's social media channels throughout the night.

WBA TV Matchday

Our opponents

Coventry City will be hoping to claim their first victory since returning to Sky Bet Championship action following the World Cup break on Wednesday night.

The Sky Blues thought they had three early Christmas points wrapped up by the hour-mark on Saturday having taken a 3-0 lead at home to Swansea, only for the Swans to hit back three times and drag a share of the spoils back to south Wales with them.

Coventry had a slow start to the season and were bottom in the early months, but Mark Robins' men managed to put a brilliant run of seven wins from nine games together before the second-tier pause in mid-November, a sequence which pulled them away from the relegation zone and into the middle of the pack.

Robins is fast approaching 300 games in what is his second stint at the club having been reappointed in March 2017 following a maiden spell between September 2012 and February 2013.

The 52-year-old, who turns 53 the day after his side face the Albion, is the longest-serving boss at a club currently playing the second tier and the fourth longest-serving in the whole of the EFL.

Coventry are without a win since November but will be looking to change that in midweek

From the Albion Archive

Four second-half strikes secured three Championship points against the Sky Blues on a magnificent Monday night in November 2007.

Michael Mifsud was dismissed early on in the opening 45 and Albion went on to score four times after the break. Paul Robinson, Filipe Teixeira (2) and Robert Koren were all on target.

One for the stattos

The Baggies will be hoping to stretch their unbeaten run at the CBS Arena to six matches on Wednesday.

Albion have won four of their last five trips to the home of the Sky Blues, drawing the other fixture.

The last time Coventry secured a victory at home to the Baggies was in December 2003 when a Johnnie Jackson strike earned a 1-0 triumph at Highfield Road.

Karlan Grant scored for Albion at the CBS Arena last December

Colours for the road

Albion will wear their red third strip at Coventry City in midweek.

You can order our red shirt here.

Albion last donned red shirts at Millwall back in October

Additional information 

Albion supporters travelling to the CBS Arena by car on Wednesday can pre-book their parking to avoid hassle.

Book your parking here.

Train services will be operating between Birmingham and Coventry. However, the line between Coventry station and Coventry Arena station will not be operating, therefore fans are advised to use alternatives to get from Coventry station to the ground. 

 

An image of Brandon Thomas-Asante on the ball against Coventry City

Coventry City scored a stoppage time penalty to beat Albion 1-0 at the CBS Arena on Wednesday night.

Viktor Gyokeres’ late winner from 12-yards was enough to earn them all three Sky Bet Championship points, compounding the Baggies to their first defeat since October.

Carlos Corberán’s men return to action on Boxing Day at Bristol City.

The boss made one change from Saturday’s 3-0 win over Rotherham, switching Daryl Dike out for Brandon Thomas-Asante.

But, contrary to last weekend, they were on the back-foot in the early stages – Coventry’s Callum O’Hare, Ben Sheaf and Gyokeres all seeing efforts flash wide.

Albion’s first chance came midway through the half when good pressure resulted in the ball falling fortuitously to Tom Rogic on the edge of the box, however his low finish was cleared off the line by a City defender after initially beating goalkeeper Ben Wilson.

Down the other end Alex Palmer had to be at his best to ensure it was goalless going into the interval, saving well from Gyokeres’s near-post strike and Hamer’s long-range swerving shot.

Coventry made a stronger start to the second period, too, with Jonathan Panzo’s header from a corner hitting the crossbar and Palmer once again saving a Hamer drive.

The Baggies, backed by 4,500 supporters, held firm and threatened through a dangerous set-piece, John Swift’s free-kick finding Darnell Furlong only a few yards out, but his nod towards goal bravely denied.

Dike, Jayson Molumby, Taylor Gardner-Hickman and – much later – Grady Diangana were brought on to freshen things up as Albion pushed forward.

Instead it was Coventry who found a goal in added time from the penalty spot, Gyokeres sending Palmer the wrong way to steal the points.

Albion: Palmer; Furlong, O’Shea, Pieters, Townsend; Swift (Diangana 90), Yokuslu, Rogic (Gardner-Hickman 66); Phillips (Molumby 56), Thomas-Asante (Dike 66), Wallace.

Substitutes: Button, Ajayi, Grant.