05-03-2024, 19:50
(This post was last modified: 05-03-2024, 19:52 by Ska'dForLife-WBA.)
Successfully holding off a Coventry fightback on Friday kept Albion a step ahead of the chasing pack, but an important few days on the road now follow as for this week alone, we find ourselves improbably and unexpectedly sucked into the relegation dogfight.
And a remarkable dogfight it's proving to be. This time last month it all looked so straightforward: Rotherham were a dead duck, Sheffield Wednesday a dying duck, and QPR a lame duck limping along behind the little gaggle of Stoke, Huddersfield and Blues. But then Wednesday started winning, and Rangers felt that novel idea might be worth copying, and four weeks later the Championship basement is a crowded old place; four teams are on 38 points and the Owls are just a win behind them all. As it stands, the Hoops and the Terriers are both in the 38 Point Club, both outside the drop zone on goal difference, but doubtless aware that a bad result in this rat race can cause more than just a sinking feeling.
QPR's turnaround has been astonishing: unbeaten in their last four league games at home, their best record in eighteen months, they've now won three on the trot including a triumph at Leicester on Saturday. But equally, Albion have managed to stay unbeaten in our last three away, and Rangers are second only to Hull in the list of sides Andi Weimann has scored against. Marti Cifuentes is missing only Jack Colback through a suspension, while Conor Townsend is a doubt for Albion; otherwise, we can hopefully expect a lively encounter between two form sides.
Huddersfield, without Jonathan Hogg after a red card against Leeds at the weekend, will host us on Sunday on the back of two wins and a draw from the last four games which has served to keep them just out of trouble as the relegation threshold concertinas upward. While Yuta Nakayama is a doubt for the weekend, Radinio Balker could return, and Brodie Spencer and Bojan Radulovic are also likely to be available; Danny Ward will provide the goal threat up top alongside Jack Rudoni.
I do expect these to be tough matches, and four points might be a greedy target in the circumstances; three would be an excellent return allowing for a slip-up, and two a satisfactory showing that would maintain our recent indomitable record on the road.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley