Bristol City to have a go at West Brom

West Brom’s authority at the top of the Championship was given a good test at the weekend by Sheffield Wednesday. Can Bristol City go one better and get a result at the Hawthorns? Have a read of our preview here:

Baggies bossing it

As they found last season, the Championship is one of the toughest, most competitive divisions in European football. The Baggies were unable to bounce back at the first time of asking but, under the stewardship of Slaven Bilic, they are making a better fist of it this time.

They are undefeated at the Hawthorns but have not been as solid as they would like, conceding two goals in five of their eight fixtures at home. This will give teams encouragement, but the Baggies have a style that leaves them open in exchange for attacking clout.

They have a side full of technicians and back it up with pace. Matheus Pereira has been the stand-out talent. The Brazilian has notched eight assists in 15 games this season in the league and his vision and passing have been key to the creativity West Brom rely on.

The complete package

West Brom have obviously been impressive but the reason they are so effective is their intelligent use of the ball and physical ability to fight when needed.

They have the third-best possession stats (54.9%) in the second-tier while also posting the second-highest (82.1%) passing accuracy too. While these are important, they do not stand up on their own but the Baggies have also won the second-most (56.6%) aerial duels in the Championship, behind only Birmingham.

With stats like these, they will be hard to knock off their lofty perch.

Bristol City’s solid form

The Robins have probably drawn too many games for Lee Johnson’s liking but they have also lost just twice all season and only once on the road.

Heading to the West Midlands to face West Brom will not be a daunting task for his side, who will surely believe they can get something from a tricky mid-week fixture.

With the exception of a 3-0 humbling at Luton, Bristol City have picked up results on their travels at Cardiff, Preston, Derby and Brentford while also scoring in all but one away game this season.

With the Baggies quite open, City could well take advantage of the space and create quite a few chances of their own – it should be an entertaining game.

West Brom vs Bristol City betting tip

Two teams who like to attack, play open football and have scored plenty of goals – only one way this one should go. That’s why we are backing both teams to score at odds of 14/19.

Bet Both teams to score on Betway