West Bromwich Albion v Palace

The Hawthorns, Saturday 3.00pm

Story so far

West Brom will be looking to find their first win in three having only picked up a point against Manchester United on Monday night having twice taken the lead. The Baggies should be confident going into Saturday?s fixture given that eight of the nine points that they have picked up have come at the Hawthorns.

So far this season, Craig Gardner has been most impressive for the Midlands-based side, as highlighted by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The English midfielder has covered the 12th most ground of any Premier League player, covering 88.36km. He is also the ninth fastest recorded player in the Premier League, clocking an impressive 35.49km/h.

He has also won 30 tackles, which is the fifth highest in the Premier League and has made 22 interceptions, which is the 11th highest. West Brom will need Gardner to cover every blade of grass as ever to win the midfield battle.

The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index also illustrates the difference made by English striker Saido Berahino. The 21 year old has hit the back of the net 6 time already this campaign, making him the third highest scorer in the Premier League.

The key to his secret is getting shots off and making sure that he works the keeper, as only three players have hit the target with more efforts than Berahino?s 11 attempts on target. He is 5/4 to score anytime with 888sport.com.

Further threats in the West Brom side are evident, and Chris Brunt is certainly a player to keep your eye on, as is Sebastien Pocognoli. The Northern Irish international has completed six crosses, and holds three assists to his name. The Belgian defender has completed a further seven crosses, and both will be able of threatening the Palace back line with their delivery.

Crystal Palace will be looking to bounce back from consecutive league defeats to Hull and, more recently, Chelsea. The Eagles now hover menacingly above the drop zone, just one point clear of 18th place, and will be looking to put distance between themselves and the chasing pack with their second away win of the season.

Leading the Eagles out on the weekend will be their influential Australian skipper, Mile Jedinak. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index reveals just how big a player he has been for Palace in the middle of the park this season. He is disruptive to opposition by stopping them from playing, and leads the Premier League in both tackles won and interceptions, with 39 and 29 respectively. He will need to continue his good work to leave Palace in control in the middle of the park.

Jason Puncheon has also been in fine form in midfield for Crystal Palace, and the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows how he has aided Jedinak in his battle, with nine interceptions and nine tackles won. His best work is going forward. Though he has completed 15 dribbles, he will be looking to add to his tally of just one goal, yet will be pleases with the three goals that he has created for his teammates. He is 9/2 to score anytime with 888sport.com.

Having conceded 14 goals so far this season, Palace will be looking to sure things up at the back, and will have Joel Ward to lead the line. The English 24 year old defender has already made 32 clearances and 15 interceptions, and won a very impressive 85% of his tackles.

Team news

Crystal Palace centre half Damien Delaney will serve a one-match ban after his sending off against Chelsea last weekend. Scott Dann could take his place if he has recovered from his knee injury in time.

Otherwise, Martin Kelly will play alongside Brede Hangeland in the middle, with Adrian Mariappa coming in at right back. Left-back Zeki Fryers is also in contention. Midfielder James McArthur is a major doubt with a thigh injury.

West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster is set to return after sitting out Monday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United due to a calf problem.

Winger Silvestre Varela won't play due to groin surgery, midfielder Claudio Yacob has returned to Argentina due to a family illness and defender Jonas Olsson is doubtful with an Achilles injury.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"Scott Dann is running OK at the minute but whether I risk him when we’ve got 10 days to our next game after this weekend, I don’t know whether it is worth the risk. He is dead keen but we will see. We’ve got a couple of days so it does make a difference. I don’t think McArthur will make it.

“Zaha’s done well in training this week but I am lucky really with those three (Zaha, Bolasie and Puncheon). They are as good as anybody in the league I think. When one’s been busting a gut, so has Wilfried, so I am pleased and it’s good for me to have food for thought on selection.”

Mile Jedinak

"We have got options – it's all about the squad at the moment. It's about opportunities for players to come in and take that chance. I am sure whoever is called upon will know those roles and will give it their all. They'll have the full backing of everybody involved.

"The Hawthorns is a ground where we lost in the league but had a good result in the FA Cup last season. It will be difficult though. West Brom played on Monday and we have taken a look at them."

Brede Hangeland

"I’m always ready to play - I prepare as if I’m playing every game. I was happy to play against Chelsea but I am past my personal ambitions in my career, I just want to win games for the team. I am never happy unless we win. I am 33 now and coming to the end of my career at some stage. I am not going to bang down on the manager’s door."

Alan Irvine

"We’re going in the right direction. We still need to improve, there’s no doubt about that. But we said to the players after Monday that, with the way that they go about their jobs and the way they try to do the things we’ve been working on, I feel we can continue to improve.

"We played well on Monday. I was a little bit concerned because we’ve had so many players away and were probably fortunate that we had a three-day lead-in.

"I want to be able to pick from all of our best players, obviously, but we're very fortunate in that we've got good goalkeepers. I was perfectly comfortable with Boaz Myhill going in and with Luke Daniels on the bench

"They are very good goalkeepers as well. Of course Ben is a top keeper. He's an England international, but I didn't lose too much sleep knowing we had Boaz. I think Boaz came in and did well.

"Will Ben get his place back? That's a hard one. Nobody is automatically in the team. The fact is players have to perform well and if they do they give me big decisions to make."

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West Bromwich Albion - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
14th	8	2	3	3	9

Full league table

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West Bromwich Albion - current form

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
8	2	3	3	10	11

Full form table

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Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
08/02/2014	League	Crystal Palace	3 - 1	West Bromwich Albion
04/01/2014	FA Cup	West Bromwich Albion	0 - 2	Crystal Palace
02/11/2013	League	West Bromwich Albion	2 - 0	Crystal Palace
26/04/2010	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 1	West Bromwich Albion
26/09/2009	League	West Bromwich Albion	0 - 1	Crystal Palace

All time results

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Last meeting

Palace 3-1 West Bromwich Albion

Saturday February 08 2014

Palace: Speroni, Ledley, Dann, Ward, Delaney, Puncheon (Murray, 72), Dikgacoi, Bolasie (Parr, 76), Jedinak, Chamakh (Thomas, 83), Ince

Subs not used: Hennessey, Gabbidon, Bannan, Gayle

Goals: Ince (15), Ledley (27), Chamakh (pen 69)

West Bromwich Albion: Foster, Jones, Ridgewell (Thievy, 45), McAuley, Dawson, Morrison, Gera (Sinclair, 45), Brunt, Mulumbu, Yacob (Berahino, 71), Anichebe

Subs not used: Lugano, Vydra, Myhill, Dorrans

Goals: Thievy (46)

Bookings: Jones, Grunt, Yacob

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