Wolves v West Brom
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 12 February 2012 - Kick Off 1:30pm
This game is live on TV

---

Wolves

I am not sure how Mick McCarthy is feeling after watching the results come through on Saturday afternoon which saw Blackburn Rovers beat QPR and Wigan win at Bolton Wanderers as it has tightened things up at the bottom, but also allows Wolves to put some distance between themselves and the bottom sides with a win here. That won't be easy as the home crowd have been waiting to get on the players back, so falling behind in the West Midlands Derby could cause huge issues.

It's funny to notice that Wolves actually moved UP a position to 16th in the Premier League despite not playing on Saturday. They have picked up 21 points so far this season, the same amount as Blackburn and QPR, while Bolton are just 1 point behind and Wigan just 2 points behind. The team will be looking to improve their record at Molineux in the closing stages of this season, currently going 3-2-7 here, scoring 16 goals and conceding 23.

After a run of 11 games without a win in all competitions, Wolves fans must have been fearing the worse as the side went 1-0 down early on in their game with QPR at Loftus Road. However, they showed tremendous heart to fight back and win that game, even if they were aided by Djibril Cisse's sending off. Wolves have struggled at home though, losing 5 of their last 6 games here in all competitions, and coming into this one having lost 4 in a row.

Jamie O'Hara and David Edwards both played against QPR last week, but have suffered knocks and will need to pass late fitness tests. Karl Henry is suspended, while Emmanuel Frimpong has been ruled out for the rest of the season and has returned to Arsenal. Ronald Zubar and Kevin Foley are other doubts in an injury plagued squad.

West Brom

I am almost certain that Roy Hodgson would have been one of the leading contenders for the England National Manager position if he had not had such an awful time in a brief stint at Liverpool 18 months ago. Now he will be focusing on making sure West Brom retain their position in the Premier League this season and get them out of a tough period they are suffering at the moment.

West Brom are one place higher than Wolves in the League table in 15th position, but they do hold a 5 point advantage over their local rivals and will feel a win would put them a long way towards safety. They have been a lot more effective away from home so far this season, going 5-3-4 while scoring 15 goals and conceding 18.

They have won just 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions, losing 3 of those including an FA Cup tie to Norwich City at home that led to some criticisms of the team Hodgson played. Most of their poor results have come at the Hawthornes recently, with the Baggies only losing 1 of their last 6 away games in the League, recording 3 vital wins in that time.

Shane Long has been suffering with an illness and is a doubt for this game, while Graham Dorrans is also doubtful with an injury. Chris Brunt has been ruled out until the middle of next month.

Head to Head

West Brom may only have won twice at home all season, but one of those was a 2-0 win over Wolves.

Wolves won this corresponding fixture 3-1 last season after an impressive start to the game saw them leading 3-0 with 47 minutes on the clock.

West Brom did have a good record here before that defeat last season, winning 4 of their last 5 trips to Molineux in all competitions.

Prediction

While the initial thoughts may be that these sides will not be the most fascinating affair on a Sunday afternoon, I actually think we could see a few goals shared amongst them, especially if recent form is anything to go by.

Wolves have been struggling badly up until the win at QPR last weekend, so much so that there were huge rumours that Mick McCarthy was set to lose his job as the manager of the club. They have conceded far too many goals at home, conceding at least 2 goals in each of their last 5 games at here, although they had scored in 8 games in a row before being blanked by Liverpool.

They would usually look at this as a game they should win if they want to stay in the Premier League, but West Brom have been performing very well away from in recent weeks, and have the goals in the side to trouble Wolves. They have scored at least 1 goal in 5 of their last 6 away games in the Premier League, while scoring at least 2 in winning 3 of those games.

That all seems to suggest we could see them goals here if recent form is played out when either team is attacking, and it looks a decent choice at odds against.

It could also make sense to have a very small wager on the 1-1 scoreline as a saver.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Wolves 2-2 West Brom

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Over 2.75 Goals @ 2.10 (188Bet)