Club News

STAT PACK: Albion v Newcastle

Facts and figures ahead of Sunday's clash with the Magpies (ko 1.30pm)

ANOTHER big weekend of Barclays Premier League action awaits.

Albion entertain Newcastle at The Hawthorns on Sunday and, as always, football statistics website WhoScored.com are here to preview the encounter.

It has been a memorable few months for Saido Berahino. 

After a debut 2013/14 season in Albion’s first-team in which he hinted at his talents and potential by scoring nine goals in all competitions, the youngster has made a flying start to the new campaign and been rewarded with a call-up to Roy Hodgson’s latest England squad.

Having established himself in the nation’s Under-21 side, Gareth Southgate will now have to make do without the striker as he steps up to senior level. 

Only Sergio Aguero (10) and Diego Costa (9) – who play for two of the Premier League’s three highest-scoring sides – have scored more goals this season than Berahino (7). 

What is more, the 21-year-old has netted two more than any other Englishman, with Charlie Austin having hit the net five times, and more than twice as many as anyone else available to Hodgson, with the likes of Raheem Sterling (3), Wayne Rooney (3) and Danny Welbeck (2) trailing in his wake.
 
Berahino has bagged seven goals in eight starts when playing centrally in attack, averaging a goal every 102.6 minutes. 

It is rather reductive to extrapolate from a period of form across a whole season, but if Berahino were to score at that rate for a full Premier League campaign he would hit a staggering 33 goals.
 
Of course, keeping form up for an extended amount of time is easier said than done, but this stat does at least point towards Berahino’s goalscoring at present.

With statistically calculated strengths from WhoScored.com of ‘finishing’ and ‘direct free-kicks’, Berahino is unquestionably primarily a goal threat, but when you watch him play there is a certain style to his game and in how he links play, all of which will have certainly appealed to Hodgson.

In-form Newcastle are the visitors to The Hawthorns this weekend, but their impressive recent record will not faze the youngster, who will be looking to add to the six Premier League goals he has in five appearances on home soil this season.

A repeat of last season’s clash between the two sides, in which Berahino scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot late on, would suit.

Confidence will be high and right now it does not look like much will be able to stop Albion’s flying England forward.


*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.

Interesting facts

The first-ever meeting between the two sides was on December 3, 1898.

There has been just one goalless draw in the last 52 meetings between the two clubs stretching back to 1959.

The Baggies are unbeaten in their last three league matches while Newcastle have not tasted defeat in four. 

Albion kicked off the current calendar year with a 1-0 win over the Magpies on New Year’s Day.

Sir Bobby Robson was an Albion player in the 1950s and 60s, before then managing Newcastle between 1999 and 2004.

Alan Irvine had a spell as Academy manager at Newcastle and coached current Magpies defender Steven Taylor. 

We said, they said

We Said – Alan Irvine: “Newcastle are in a great run of form at the moment, it will be a very tough game.”

They Said – Steven Taylor: “Alan Irvine is one of the best coaches I have ever worked under.”

Most recent encounters at The Hawthorns

Albion 1-0 Newcastle (January 1, 2014)

Albion 1-1 Newcastle (April 20, 2013)

Albion 1-3 Newcastle (March 25, 2012)

Listen to live match commentary on Albion Player

Can’t get to The Hawthorns? Tune in to Albion Player’s live, full-match commentary from 12.30pm. To subscribe, click here.

At the game on Sunday and want to listen to the commentary? Tune into 106.9FM from anywhere inside the stadium. 

Follow our live matchday blog

Keep up to speed with all the matchday action and interact with fellow fans on our FREE blog on the Albion Wall from 12.30pm.

So, if you can’t make the game, click here to join in the fun, and post your comments?

Copyright 2014 WEST BROMWICH ALBION FOOTBALL CLUB LTD. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.wba.co.uk as the source.

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