Club News

STAT PACK: Albion v Crystal Palace

Facts and figures ahead of Saturday's clash with the Eagles (ko 3pm)

ON the back of a well-earned draw with Manchester United on Monday, Albion host Crystal Palace this weekend aiming to build on what has been a positive period on the pitch. 

Once again, football stats website WhoScored.com are here to preview the clash.

It was a fantastic performance but unfortunately for head coach Alan Irvine not quite the right result against Louis van Gaal's Manchester United at The Hawthorns earlier this week.

The Baggies held their own and twice took the lead only to be pegged back by well-taken strikes from two of the visitors' big-money signings.

Albion scored two exceptional goals of their own, Stephane Sessegnon providing the first with a thunderbolt into the top corner and Saido Berahino netting his sixth Barclays Premier League goal of the season having run clean through.

The result meant Albion have lost only one of their last five games in all competitions and currently sit 14th in the league table. 

Irvine's team have also gone three games unbeaten at home and will be looking to make that four on Saturday against Crystal Palace.

The first goal of the night on Monday came from an incisive break upfield led by right-back Andre Wisdom. 

The 21-year-old Liverpool loanee has been a revelation since joining the club in the summer, holding off competition from Cristian Gamboa, who arrived after being part of the Costa Rica squad who helped knock out England at the World Cup.

Once again this week, Wisdom provided another solid defensive performance but also broke forward at pace to provide an attacking threat from deep. 

For Albion’s opening goal, he ran on to Graham Dorrans' clever lay-off and burst into the space that Luke Shaw had vacated. 

Going at full tilt down the wing, Wisdom showed fantastic composure to calmly slot the ball across to the edge of the area for Sessegnon to slam home.

In that move, Wisdom displayed two of his three statistically calculated strengths on WhoScored.com - dribbling and passing. 

As can be seen from the heat map of his touches in Premier League games this season, while Wisdom's prime focus is defensive, he is also a key attacking outlet for this Baggies team.

As Albion look to continue their fine run of form this weekend against a side they beat 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season, Wisdom will once again be a vital component.


*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 meeting between the two sides was in the old First Division on Saturday, September 20, 1969, with Albion running out 3-1 winners in South London.

Crystal Palace midfielder Jerome Thomas spent four seasons at Albion, making over 100 appearances for the club. He moved to Selhurst Park in July 2013.

Albion won promotion to the Premier League for the first time after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at The Hawthorns on April 21, 2002. The goalscorers that day were Darren Moore and ‘Super’ Bob Taylor.

There have only been three goalless draws in 48 meetings between the two clubs. 

Albion were knocked out of last season’s FA Cup by Crystal Palace. The Eagles claimed a 2-0 win in the third round of the competition thanks to goals from Dwight Gayle and Marouane Chamakh.

We said, they said

We Said – Alan Irvine: “Anyone who thinks we can just turn up and roll Palace over may just get a surprise.”

They Said – Neil Warnock: “West Brom didn’t start the season very well, but they played brilliantly on Monday night.”

Most recent encounters at The Hawthorns v Palace

Albion 0-2 Crystal Palace (4/1/14) FA Cup third round

Albion 2-0 Palace (2/11/13) Premier League

Albion 0-1 Palace (26/9/09) Championship

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