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The EFL Championship returns with a fresh set of fixtures as West Bromwich Albion play host to Blackpool at the Hawthorns Stadium on Friday.
The visitors head into the game winless in four consecutive games and will be seeking to end this dry spell and resume their push to the top half of the standings.
West Bromwich Albion were sent crashing back down to earth last Saturday as they fell to a 3-1 home defeat against Stoke City.
This followed an impressive 2-0 victory over Bournemouth on April 6 which saw their two-game winless run come to an end.
With 57 points from 41 games, West Brom are currently 12th in the EFL Championship table, level on points with Preston North End and Swansea City.
Elsewhere, Blackpool failed to find their feet as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers last time out.
They have now failed to taste victory in any of their last four outings, claiming two draws and losing twice since a 1-0 win over Swansea on March 12.
Blackpool are currently 16th in the league table after picking up 53 points from 40 games.
West Bromwich Albion vs Blackpool Head-To-Head
West Bromwich Albion head into Friday’s game with a clear upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming 43 wins from the last 91 meetings between the sides.
Blackpool have picked up 32 wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 16 different occasions.
West Bromwich Albion Form Guide: L-W-W-D-L
Blackpool Form Guide: D-L-L-D-W
West Bromwich Albion vs Blackpool Team News
West Bromwich Albion
Daryl Dike and Kean Bryan have been sidelined with tendon and knee injuries respectively and will both sit out Friday’s game.
Injured: Daryl Dike, Kean Bryan
Suspended: None
Blackpool
Dujon Sterling, Luke Garbutt, Sonny Carey and Grant Ward are all recuperating from injuries and are out of contention for Blackpool.
Injured: Dujon Sterling, Luke Garbutt, Sonny Carey, Grant Ward
Suspended: None
West Bromwich Albion vs Blackpool Predicted XI
West Bromwich Albion (3-4-3): Sam Johnstone; Mathew Clarke, Kyle Bartley, Semi Ajayi; Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Alex Mowatt, Jake Livermore, Conor Townsend, Jayson Molumby; Callum Robinson, Andy Carroll
Blackpool (4-4-2): Chris Maxwell; James Husband, Jordan Thorniley, Marvin Ekpiteta, Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel; Charlie Kirk, Keshi Anderson, CJ Hamilton; Shayne Lavery, Jerry Yates
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West Bromwich Albion vs Blackpool Prediction
While Blackpool will be looking to return to winning ways, they have struggled for form on the road, picking up just one win from their last 11 away games since November.
West Brom have been solid on their home ground and we predict they will make use of this advantage once again to claim all three points.
Prediction: West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Blackpool
