Newcastle United vs West Brom Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2011-12-21 - Newcastle United vs West Brom

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Newcastle United v West Brom
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 21 December 2011 - Kick Off 7:45pm

Newcastle United

You have to appreciate the start made to the new season by Newcastle United although the fixture computer threw up a tough run of games that has seen the team hit a buffer of late. That culminated in a 0-0 home draw with Swansea on Saturday as they failed to make the most of their chances but they have a chance to send the fans off happy at Christmas with a win in this game.

Newcastle are 7th in the Premier League table and have fallen off the pace set by those teams chasing a Champions League spot. They have gained 27 points this season and come in with a 4-3-1 record at home, scoring 10 goals and conceding 8.

The Magpies have only picked up 2 points in their last 5 games since beating Everton 2-1 here at the beginning of November. They come into this game having failed to score in their last 2 games at St James' Park and they have only picked up 1 point from those games, although they should have got more out of the game against Swansea on Saturday.

Steven Taylor is a long term absentee for Alan Pardew, but Ryan Taylor should return, while Mike Williamson should also be back in the squad. Yohan Cabaye is suspended as is Dan Gosling, while Danny Guthrie is out until the New Year.

West Brom

West Brom earned a vital 3 points at Blackburn Rovers at the weekend and they will hope to build on that result here. Roy Hodgson has spoken of the need to continue picking up points and avoid the 'second season syndrome' that has affected so many sides over the years.

The 3 points gained at Ewood Park moved the Baggies up to 13th in the Premier League and they improved their points tally to 18, 5 better off than Wigan in the final relegation spot. West Brom are 3-2-3 away from home this season, scoring 9 goals but conceding 13.

They have been very inconsistent in their results in recent weeks, with the win at Blackburn being their first in 4 games in the Premier League and came off the back of a disappointing 1-2 defeat to Wigan. West Brom have actually lost just 1 of their last 5 away games in the League, winning 2 of those. They have managed to go on a good run away from despite conceding in all 5 games.

James Morrison scored a great goal against Blackburn at the weekend but is set to miss this game with a hamstring injury, although he is expected back on Boxing Day. Somen Tchoyi is also on leave at the moment and will not return to the ground on which he scored a hat-trick last season. Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie caused Blackburn plenty of problems at the weekend and are expected to start together up front.

Head to Head

West Brom came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 here on the last day of the season in their last meeting.

That means the Baggies have drawn on their last 2 visits to this part of the North East after losing 3 in a row here before that.

Goals usually flow when these sides meet one another and 8 of the last 9 contests have seen at least 3 goals scored between them.

Prediction

I am not sure if I am ready to back Newcastle to come out of their mini-slump at the moment, although I have to say they were very unlucky not to come away with the 3 points from their home game with Swansea at the weekend.

The problem for the Magpies is they are playing a side that have proven tough to beat away from home in recent games, and one that should have plenty of confidence from winning at Blackburn on Saturday.

I can definitely see both sides scoring at least one goal in this contest, and I think there is a definite play for the 'Over 2.5 Goals' to come in, even though Newcastle have not scored in their last 2 home games.

West Brom have not kept a clean sheet away from home in their last 7 games in all competitions, while Newcastle had scored at least 2 goals in 4 of their 5 home games before failing to score in the last 2 here.

Goals have flowed when these sides have met recently and it is telling that the last 7 games have all seen at least 3 goals scored between the teams.

I expect both managers to send their teams out to go for the win and so I will back the 'Over 2.5 Goals' at 1.95

The Statistics :

NEWCASTLE LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-12-17	D	0-0	H v Swansea
	2011-12-03	L	0-3	H v Chelsea
	2011-11-05	W	2-1	H v Everton
	2011-10-22	W	1-0	H v Wigan
	2011-10-16	D	2-2	H v Tottenham
	2011-09-24	W	3-1	H v Blackburn

WBA LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2011-12-17	W	1-2	A v Blackburn
	2011-12-03	D	1-1	A v QPR
	2011-11-05	L	3-0	A v Arsenal
	2011-10-22	W	1-2	A v Aston_Villa
	2011-10-01	D	2-2	A v Sunderland
	2011-09-17	L	3-0	A v Swansea