West Brom v Bristol City: Stalemate stands-out on Sunday | OneFootball

EFL Championship

West Brom are falling short in the final-third

West Brom and Bristol City both have their eyes on a top-six Championship finish and Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing a stalemate when the dup lock horns on Sunday...

West Brom v Bristol CitySunday December 22, 15:00Live on Sky Sports

Baggies unbeaten streak ended

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan labelled a 2-1 defeat at play-off chasing rivals Watford last Sunday as "difficult to accept" but admitted his side could not unlock the door late on. Albion's 12-game unbeaten run came to an end at Vicarage Road as the Baggies paid the price for shipping a sloppy opening goal as well as profligate final-third finishing.

Corberan started with a back five for just the second time this term and said, "I think we did enough in the first half to score. We finished the first half with a massive chance that probably if we scored, it would have been the fair result. In the last 10 minutes, we found a way to create more volume, more corners, but we should have created more in the game."

Albion will assess the fitness of attacker Grady Diangana this week in the hope a prolonged injury saga can come to an end. Meanwhile, Mikey Johnston, Jed Wallace, John Swift and Alex Mowatt will all hope for recalls after impressing off the bench at Watford. But Paddy McNair, Semi Ajayi and Daryl Dike are all still sidelined and unavailable for Corberan.

Manning demands more from Bristol City

Bristol City boss Liam Manning has challenged his squad to deliver more consistently in front of goal, insisting everyone is "playing for their futures" following the Robins' frustrating 1-1 draw with QPR last week. Scott Twine's second-half free-kick broke the deadlock, but Paul Smyth's 40-yard strike ensured that the points would be shared despite City's dominance.

While Manning was quick to credit his side for carving out several opportunities, he admits that he is growing frustrated with a lack of cutting edge. He said, "We have an identity, we press really well, we're aggressive in duels, and have good control with the ball but we missed three clear-cut chances. We need people to step up, execute and deliver."

Right-back George Tanner is close to returning and could challenge Ross McCrorie soon, whilst Kal Naismith is also on the comeback trail though Luke McNally, Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner are ahead of him in the centre-back order. Elsewhere, Mark Sykes and Sinclair Armstrong are hoping to be back for the New Year, though Joe Williams is out long-term.

Albion difficult to oust at home

West Brom boast a W6-D2-L2 supremacy against Bristol City over the past six years, recording five clean sheets in their last seven meetings with the Robins. Albion were 2-0 winners at The Hawthorns in the duos most recent encounter, whilst the Baggies have posted W7-D1-L1 in home head-to-heads with the Reds going back as far as 1993.

Since topping the Championship table in late September, West Brom 2.10 have been plagued by draws, delivering W2-D10-L3 in their following 15 league fixtures. Albion have managed only 14 goals in that 15-game sequence, and the Baggies pragmatism has often been blamed for their inability to turn solid defensive efforts into regular victories.

Bristol City 3.85 have also suffered due to falling short in the final-third. The Robins arrive having W4-D7-L4 in their last 15 league dates, netting 17 goals in total. The Reds have only tabled six triumphs in 27 away Championship contests under Liam Manning's watch (W6-D10-L11), firing blanks on 11 (41%) occasions, avergaing just 1.00 goal per-game.

Stalemate stands-out

West Brom are worthy favourites at The Hawthorns - Albion have been turned over just seven times in league action here under Carlos Corberan's watch, though the Baggies have been held here in five of their last six showdowns. The draw 2.80 therefore appeals again, considering Bristol City's own penchant for stalemates - seven of their last 15 paying-out.

The Robins have shared the spoils in four of their nine match-ups with top-10 teams, whilst seven of West Brom's 11 against the top-13 have followed suit. However, we can engineer a more attraction price by including Under 2.5 Goals alongside the Draw, giving us an 11/4 shot - 14 of their 21 combined home/away contests have featured Under 2.5 Goals.

Recommended bets

Back the Draw and Under 2.5 Goals @ 11/4