Under-fire Baggies boss may need another big home performancepublished at 14:28 GMT
West Brom v Bristol City (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Getty ImagesWest Brom have lost more often on the road
than any other Championship team this season – so they’ll be thankful to the
fixtures computer for handing them a Boxing Day assignment in familiar surroundings
today.
Albion are unbeaten in their past seven
outings at home, but an inability to pick up points away from base meant they limped
towards Christmas in 16th place, almost as close to the bottom three as they
are to the play-off positions.
Norwegian forward Aune Heggebo’s purple
patch in front of goal, having struck seven times in his past eight games, has
played a big part in easing some of the pressure on Baggies head coach Ryan Mason.
“Our away form has been terrible recently, but I think
the lack of ability to back a result up with another result is what has really
cost us so far,” Mason admitted to BBC Radio WM.
“If we want to climb the
league and build some momentum, that’s what we have to do – regardless of how
you play, you need to find a way to get results.”
Along with playing at home today, the other
good news for the Albion faithful is that they face opponents who rarely do
well at The Hawthorns – Bristol City have lost on seven of their past eight
trips up the M5.
However, the Robins will travel today in
buoyant mood after ending their three-match winless run in eye-catching style
with a 2-0 victory over promotion-chasing Middlesbrough just before the festive
season.
