Scouting The Doubles – West Brom

Sitting pretty in eighth place in the Premier League, West Brom have nothing left to play for other than pride. With 14 points separating them from a Europa League place and 17 points from relegation, some feel that manager Steve Clarke has a tough job getting his players out of bed in the morning, let alone running around a football pitch for 90 minutes. With just one win in the last four, is there enough fight in this mid table team to warrant investment as Fantasy managers look to set themselves up for the final double Gameweek of the season?

The Prospects

Of West Brom’s two matches, the first, at home to relegation embattled Wigan this Saturday, looks the best bet for attacking points and a victory. Clarke’s side have found the net six times in the last four home matches and the last time they failed to score in front of their own fans was in Gameweek 25. Wigan are among the most unpredictable Premier League sides but their recent record on the road shows that investment in West Brom’s defence could bear fruit. During April’s three away Premier League games, the Latics scored just once, though this comes in stark contrast to a pair of 3-0 victories at Everton and Reading over February and March in the FA Cup and league respectively.

The Baggies then travel to City three days later, when the team’s prospects in both attack and defence look far shakier. While West Brom hammered three past Southampton at St Mary’s last Saturday, this was their first away victory since Gameweek 26’s surprise 2-0 win over Liverpool. They have also failed to score when travelling to the other top four Premier League sides: Chelsea, Arsenal and United. Roberto Mancini’s side will be confident going into the game; with 38 goals accrued at the Etihad, they have the third best home scoring record in the Premier League. City’s nine clean sheets in front of their own fans is also the Premier League’s joint best home defence record, along with Liverpool.

The Likely Lads

During his year-long loan spell from Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku has been quite simply sensational. The 19-year old Belgium international has racked up 14 goals, seven assists as well as 18 bonus points in the FPL game. It’s a record that has made a mockery of his initial 6.5 price tag in the FPL game (6.2 in the Sky Sports game) and left Chelsea fans scratching their heads as to how he was allowed to ply his trade away from his contracted team for so long.

There’s a theory that, as the season draws to a close, rotation, in addition to his loan status, means there’s no guarantee of starts but Lukaku has featured in the Baggies first XI in 11 of the last 13 matches he has been available for. He’s scored or assisted in nine of those 11 starts and, having had a hand in eight of West Brom’s 10 goals from Gameweek 27 onwards, he’s certainly staked a case for regular inclusion. Fielded on the left of a 4-3-3 against Southampton last weekend, he delivered a 15 point return – his highest of the season. It is worth noting, however, that he has only completed 90 minutes on six occasions and has played just 53 minutes in total against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal away from home; perhaps a sign of Clarke’s more cautious approach on the road at times.

With 116 points in the FPL game and 105 in the Sky Game, James Morrison is the pick of the West Brom midfield options, with four goals, eight assists and a couple of double digit Gameweeks under his belt. Priced at 5.7 in the FPL game and 6.4 in the Sky Game, he presents a reasonable fifth midfielder option for the double Gameweek and has benefitted from being utilised in the role in “the hole” behind a lone striker this season. Clarke’s recent change of formation, though, and the fact that Morrison limped off with a groin problem last weekend, is enough to deter any would-be suitors until Clarke rolls out an injury update later today or tomorrow morning.

In defence Gareth McAuley stands head and shoulders above his defensive colleagues. Priced at 5.2 in FPL and 6.0 in the Sky game he is the most expensive of West Brom’s defensive options but with 109 FPL points, thanks to two goals, three assists and eight bonus points, he offers the most attacking potential from the back. Slightly cheaper at 5.0 in the FPL game and 4.7m in the Sky game, goalkeeper Ben Foster could provide an alternative investment, although with just seven clean sheets this season, McAuley’s offensive threat could be worth the extra money.

Cheeky Punt

Priced at 5.8 in the FPL game (but a staggering 7.7 in the Sky game) Shane Long offers a cut price alternative to Lukaku in one game at least. His seven goals, six assists and 11 FPL bonus points show that there’s plenty of attacking potential – a goal and assist in the last three suggest the Irish striker could be a viable alternative to Lukaku up top.