West Brom has called in firefighter Sam Allardyce to quell the four-alarm blaze that is currently engulfing the Hawthorns.
Slaven Bilic was sacked this week following a creditable 1-1 draw away to Manchester City. The decision to fire Bilic was already made and former Crystal Palace, Bolton Wanderers, and Newcastle United manager Allardyce has been lured back into coaching to save the Baggies.
"I hope I succeed like I have succeeded at other clubs in the past."New head coach Sam Allardyce on returning to the Black Country, @premierleague survival and Sunday's derby with Aston Villa 💬— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) December 17, 2020
"I hope I succeed like I have succeeded at other clubs in the past."New head coach Sam Allardyce on returning to the Black Country, @premierleague survival and Sunday's derby with Aston Villa 💬
His first order of business is to take points off of Dean Smith’s Aston Villa in a local derby. The Villains won’t be easy to defeat as they go into the game sitting 11th with 19 points from 33 possible.
The days of Aston Villa flirting with the top of the table are over. They are a midtable club and recent results prove that. The Villains are unbeaten in two straight games with a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 and a nil-nil draw against Burnley.
The Baggies are winless in three straight games. Of course, their midweek game ended in a 1-1 draw versus Manchester City, further denting the title hopes of Pep Guardiola.
West Brom are three points from safety going into matchday 14. Survival is staring them in the face, mocking them. It is so close, yet so far away.
Allardyce has five names on his injured list going into the weekend. Conor Townsend, Matheus Pereira, Kyle Bartley, and Hal Robson-Kanu are all ruled out with injury. Sam Field is a doubt to appear as a nagging fitness issue keeps him sidelined.
West Brom did nothing of note in the summer transfer window to improve the squad’s attack.
You can bet Allardyce was given assurance that spending would take place in January to upgrade the team’s forwards. West Brom have scored 10 goals in 13 games.
Smith has six players listed as injured for the game on Sunday. Forward Wesley remains out as he is still recovering from a serious knee injury. Matt Cash, Douglas Luiz, and Mahmoud Ibrahim Hassan are all three ruled out.
The manager will hope the duo of Ross Barkley and Ezri Konsa pass late fitness tests. However, both are currently doubts to appear.
Aston Villa have lost just once on the road this season claiming 12 points from 15 possible. They should continue that trend this weekend with a win against West Brom. Allardyce has his work cut out for him. Don’t expect a 180-degree change from the Baggies as Aston Villa win the derby.