Facts and figures on Saturday's clash with the Cottagers (ko 3pm)
ALBION tomorrow welcome Fulham to The Hawthorns and here football statistics website WhoScored.com take a look at the numbers ahead of the clash.Pepe Mel is still unbeaten on home soil as head coach of the Baggies, having picked up impressive draws against three of the Barclays Premier League's top six in recent weeks.
The hosts have been defeated four times at The Hawthorns this season - with only seven teams having lost fewer Premier League home games than Albion.
And Mel has continued that trend during his reign.
Albion's current five-match unbeaten streak at home is the fourth-best amongst all Premier League teams, with only title-challengers Chelsea (13), Arsenal (12) and Liverpool (10) boasting better home runs of form at present.
The home crowd at the Hawthorns is famous across the country for its particularly vocal support and perhaps that makes the difference, particularly seeing as top teams have led there recently and all failed to take three points, with Albion coming from behind on each occasion.
Meanwhile, the opponents this weekend, Fulham, have lost nine of their 13 away games so far - and only Crystal Palace (ten) fare worse in this regard.
Away from home, the Cottagers have scored only ten goals this term, and have conceded more goals (30) than any other team in the top flight, including 12 in their last four matches.
Fulham's new boss, Felix Magath, has previously only faced English opposition in European competitions, with a record of four wins from nine matches.
The Cottagers' win at The Hawthorns last season was their first in seven visits and they have failed to score in three of their last five trips to B71.
With only one win in their last 12 away games, Fulham may find it difficult to breakdown the Baggies who have not lost at home since December's defeat by Norwich.
*WhoScored.com is a unique website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Provided with unique stats, they compile and create comprehensive analysis on the major European divisions, including live match stats and player ratings. Follow @WhoScored and their editor-in-chief @alitweedale on Twitter.
All-time results record (League, FA Cup and League Cup)
P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HOME | 41 | 22 | 9 | 10 | 87 | 45 | +42 |
AWAY | 40 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 35 | 56 | -21 |
TOTAL | 81 | 36 | 18 | 27 | 122 | 101 | +21 |
Interesting facts
Felix Magath is the first German national to take charge of a Barclays Premier League club.
Magath has managed seven different clubs in the Bundesliga and has a win ratio of 46.7 per cent from 495 games.
The Baggies have had 16 different goalscorers this season - more than any other Premier League side.
Claudio Yacob has made more tackles than any other player in the top flight this season (98).
Zoltan Gera enjoyed three years at Fulham under former Albion boss and now-England manager Roy Hodgson.
Fulham’s Kieran Richardson was a team-mate of Gera at The Hawthorns during the 2004/05 Great Escape season.
Last time out
HOME: Barclays Premier League, Saturday, January 1, 2013, Albion 1 (Lukaku 49) Fulham 2 (Berbatov 39, Kacaniklic 58)
AWAY: Barclays Premier League, Saturday, September 14, 2013, Fulham 1 (Sidwell 22) Albion 1 (McAuley 90)
Form guide (last six league matches)
ALBION: LDLDLD
FULHAM: LLLLDL
Last league match line-ups
ALBION (v Chelsea – home D 1-1): Foster; Reid, McAuley, Dawson, Ridgewell; Amalfitano (Anichebe 73), Morrison, Yacob (Mulumbu 63), Brunt (c); Berahino; Thievy (Vydra 78). Subs not used: Myhill (gk), Lugano, Dorrans, Gera.
FULHAM (v Liverpool – home L 1-0): Stekelenburg (Stockdale 76); Riether, Heitinga, Burn, Riise; Tunnicliffe, Kvist, Sidwell, Richardson (Kacaniklic 71); Holtby, Bent. Subs not used: Hangeland, Parker, Duff, Cole, Kasami.
Fulham team news
Kostas Mitroglou (knee) is one of several fitness concerns, with goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (eye) and defender Fernando Amorebieta (knee) also set face late fitness tests. Defender Matthew Briggs (hernia) continues his long-term recovery.
Ref watch
Mike Dean will referee tomorrow's game. The Wirral official last oversaw the Baggies in their 3-3 draw at West Ham in December. He has dished out 86 yellow and five red cards in 25 games this term.
Betting
Selected odds from Sky Bet:
Albion to win: 3/4
Fulham to win: 18/5
Draw: 13/5
Thievy Bifouma to score first: 5/1
Darren Bent to score first: 15/2
If you fancy a flutter with the club's official online betting partner, click here.
Tickets
Tickets for this game remain on general sale. For more information, click here.
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