West Brom v Sunderland: Black Cats to feel the wrath of the Baggies

"They have won four of their last five in front of their own fans and they won them in style too."

Back West Brom @ 1.71

West Brom v Sunderland
Saturday January 21, 15:00 GMT

West Brom

It's been a fantastic campaign thus far for the Baggies and while they are eighth in the league, they would have been disappointed to exit the FA Cup at home to lower league opposition.

Nevertheless, West Brom are playing some good stuff this year and I wouldn't be overly concerned by their 4-0 defeat at Spurs last weekend either. I'd put that more down to the quality of Tottenham on the day and things should be different at the Hawthorns.

Tony Pulis has no fresh injury concerns ahead of this fixture and Salomon Rondon should continue to lead the line. Not only does he score goals - although he'll be hoping to improve on his one in three average this year - he also helps make them and he brings his fellow attackers into the game.

Sunderland

Just when it appeared that Sunderland had turned the corner, they've reverted back to putting in some dreadful performances and gifting their opponents pretty soft goals.

The same thing happened again last weekend as they were 3-0 down at home to Stoke within 34 minutes and while they rallied to only lose 3-1, events of that nature have happened too often this term.

David Moyes has managed to retain the services of Jermain Defoe - for not at least anyway - but he hasn't been able to add anyone to the squad and that is a concern. They are level on points with Swansea at the bottom, but on the bright side, they are only one point adrift of safety.

Match Odds
West Brom 1.71 Sunderland 6.00 The Draw 4.00

This has to be a home win for me and I'm keen to pile into West Brom at 1.71. They have won four of their last five in front of their own fans and they won them in style too. Each victory was by at least a two goal margin and they didn't score less than three goals themselves.

Tony Pulis has really got his team playing at the top of their game in recent months and they are a far cry from the Stoke side that he managed in previous years.

Sunderland have lost their last four away from the Stadium of Light and they were all by two goals or more. They've managed just the one away win all season - a rather fortuitous one at Bournemouth - and other than a draw at Southampton, all of their other eight fixtures ended in defeat.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Goals 2.08 Under 2.5 Goals 1.91

Another selection that I am rather keen on is over 2.5 goals at a very generous 2.08. It would have landed in five of West Brom's last six at the Hawthorns and the Baggies themselves have netted at least three times in four of their last five in front of their own fans.

The goals have been flowing in Sunderland's away games as well as four of their last five on their travels have seen overs backers collect and they've conceded 10 times over the course of their three most recent away outings.

I'm really surprised that the under is favoured in this market, but it's a pleasant surprise and hopefully we'll be able to take full advantage.

Recommended Bets

Back West Brom @ 1.71
Back Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.08