Match Previews

Stoke City v Albion match preview

Albion travel to Stoke City's bet365 Stadium on Saturday for a Midlands derby in the Sky Bet Championship (ko 5.30pm).

The opposition

Stoke City are currently in 15th position in the table, and are managed by Nathan Jones, who took over from Gary Rowett in January.

Nathan Jones' side have won just once under his management - and lost four times, including a surprise exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Shrewsbury Town.

Former Albion players Darren Fletcher, James McLean and Saido Berahino are all amongst the ranks at the Potters.

Last time out

Our last meeting was in September as Dwight Gayle scored a double within an hour to propel the Baggies to victory over their Midlands rivals in the league.

A brilliant Erik Pieters shot rocketed into the roof of the Albion net late on to provide Stoke with a consolation goal, but the Baggies held on to see out a 2-1 win.

Stats

Albion

• The Baggies have won five of their last six away games, clocking up 15 points from a possible 18.
• On average, Albion have won 1.71 points from each away game this season.
• Albion are the highest scorers in the league, with 59 goals to their name.

Opposition

• Have scored three league goals in the four games that Nathan Jones has been in charge.
• Stoke's top scorer this season, Benik Afobe, has scored 7 league goals - six of these have been scored away from home.
• The Potters haven't scored three or more goals in any single game this season.

From the archive

Here are the highlights from Albion's 2-1 win at the Bet365 Stadium in 2012.

James Morrison opened the scoring for the Baggies in the first half, before Cameron Jerome scored a late penalty to level for the Potters with under five minutes to play.

However, at the death Graham Dorrans scored from a low free-kick to win Albion all three points.

 

Head to head

Stoke come out on top in the head-to-head record.

Of the 144 matches that have been played, the Baggies have triumphed 47 times, there have been 37 draws and the Potters have won on 60 occasions.

Man in the middle

The referee for Saturday's match is Jeremy Simpson, and he'll be assisted by Nick Hopton and Nigel Lugg, whilst Scott Duncan will be the fourth official.

Jeremy Simpson has refereed Albion three times this season - officiating for Albion's 4-2 victory against Bristol City at The Hawthorns, Albion's 2-1 away win at Sheffield United and the 1-0 loss away at Wigan Athletic.

Ticket news

Tickets for the game at Stoke have sold out. Albion will be backed by 2,900 supporters at the bet365 Stadium.

Follow the game

Comprehensive coverage of the clash with Middlesbrough is available in our Match Centre, where you can listen to live commentary on WBA Radio or follow our live text feed.

WBA Radio is the only service that allows Baggies fans around the world - from Smethwick to the Sahara - access to uninterrupted live commentaries from every one of our competitive games. iFollow subscribers can join Gez Mulholland and Dave Bowler for Baggies-biased live commentary on Saturday.

International supporters who have an iFollow subscription may be able to live stream the game depending on where they are located around the world. To find out, click here.

You’ll also be able to find score updates on the club's social media channels.

Twitter - @WBA

Facebook - West Bromwich Albion

Instagram - wba

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