West Brom host Newcastle United at the Hawthorns on Tuesday night in the FA Cup fifth round. The two sides last played in the Premier League in April 2018 and will renew their rivalry in the cup competition.
Slaven Bilic’s Baggies defeated Charlton Athletic away in the FA Cup third round 1-0 before winning away from home again versus West Ham. West Brom did suffer a loss at the weekend against Wigan Athletic 1-0 at home in the EFL Championship. It was their first loss in seven games in all competitions.
Newcastle United were forced to play replays in both the FA Cup third and fourth rounds. The Magpies drew 1-1 with Rochdale away before winning 4-1 in the replay at home. Newcastle United then drew nil-nil at home to Oxford United.
The replay saw the Magpies take a 2-0 first-half lead before collapsing in the second 45 minutes conceding two goals. Full-time ended 2-2 sending the game to extra-time where Allan Saint-Maximin scored the winner in the 116th minute.
Three of the last nine games between West Brom and Newcastle United in all competitions ended in draws. Tuesday night’s FA Cup fifth round game has the potential to end the full 90 minutes in a stalemate and go to extra-time.
Newcastle United have seen three FA Cup matches end level this season. Steve Bruce’s team have struggled to score goals despite being defensively rigid. The Magpies are winless in their last seven games in all competitions. Five of those games saw the Magpies unable to score.
Injuries have been a topic of discussion all season long at Newcastle United. Seven players are on the team’s injury list heading into the midweek clash at the Hawthorns.
Emil Krafth, Ciaran Clark, Jack Colback, Paul Dummett, and Jetro Willems are all ruled out of the match through injuries. Andy Carroll is a doubt to feature for Bruce on Tuesday night.
Bilic is without the services of centre-back Ahmed Hegazi. The defender’s absence should be a blow at the back. West Brom’s loss to Wigan Athletic at the weekend means they are only six points above third-place Fulham.
The manager could focus his side’s attention on the EFL Championship and promotion to the Premier League. Bilic may rest several key players for the FA Cup fifth round.
Tuesday night’s game should see both teams find the back of the net as Newcastle United get back on the scoresheet. The two sides should finish full-time level with extra-time waiting for them. Expect over 2.5 goals and both sides finding the back of the net at the Hawthorns.