[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

As the putative takeover rumbles on, Albion look forward to a Christmas of some uncertainty, but also a fair degree of optimism. Plenty of us didn't expect to be anywhere near as high as we're currently flying, and though a strong autumn has given way to a December of mixed results so far, it remains playoff form at the very least.

It'll be tested, though, across the standard four festive fixtures. The last pre-Christmas game takes us up to Middlesbrough, who've lost their last two against us; another Albion win would make it our best streak against them since 2008-2010, and do the double on them for the first time since Di Matteo's tenure. However, our alternating win-loss-win tendency on the road has us due for defeat this week after the triumph at Rotherham, so we'll need to come up with the goods twice in a row for the first time since April against the only side who've accrued more Championship points throughout 2023 than us (though the lion's share of them in Boro's case were at the tail-end of the last campaign; a run to the semi-finals of the League Cup this time round has coincided with a slump to mid-table). Their squad, encouragingly, is threadbare: this week's encounter with Port Vale increased their injury list from nine to fourteen names, and so Michael Carrick's men may be without goalkeeper Seny Dieng (slipped while taking a goal-kick), midfielder Matt Crooks (pulled a muscle attempting a backheel), defender Tommy Smith (turned into a human accordion after an anvil dropped on him), striker Josh Coburn (sat on TNT detonator whilst pursuing an errant roadrunner) and forward Emmanuel Latte Lath (suffered third-degree burns after being mistaken for a type of coffee). So it can be done; not easily, but Albion should be capable of a result.

And it might be necessary, because the remainder of the seasonal schedule is challenging. Norwich are the visitors on Boxing Day, having slipped down considerably from their early prominence in the promotion race but still a team able to bang in goals on their day. Leeds then pay a call next Friday night, 3rd in the table and showing no signs of easing up despite the ten-point chasm in the promotion race, before Swansea become the first opponents of 2024 with a typically challenging encounter in South Wales.

Whether you make it to the games or not, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas, and that the new year will treat us well.

Christmas & New Year Fixtures

Middlesbrough (A), Sat 23/12 - 15:00
Norwich (H), Tue 26/12 - 15:00
Leeds (H), Fri 29/12 - 20:15
Swansea (A), Mon 01/01 - 15:00