[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

As disappointing as the late equaliser at Ipswich may have been, four points has been an excellent return from this week so far, and there's time for it to get better still as Southampton visit the Hawthorns on Friday evening fresh from a defeat at Ashton Gate on Tuesday which ended their 22-game unbeaten league run. Whether that result spells the beginning of a slump or is merely the long-overdue blip they'll be bouncing straight back from is anyone's guess, but at the very least, it's encouraging that Saints have conceded six goals in their two games so far this week (which is more than in their previous twelve combined), and if they ship three again tomorrow then it'll be the first time they've done so three times in a row outside the top flight since 1965.

A tall order perhaps, but Albion are also unbeaten at home on Friday nights since May 2017, and despite a pretty appalling recent record against Southampton, we came out 3-0 winners on their last visit in April 2021. This will be the first time they've played at the Hawthorns outside the Prem for nearly sixteen years, the last occasion being that April evening in 2008 when a 23-year-old Chris Brunt slammed in the equaliser that took Mowbray's Albion up, and all things considered, a repeat of that 1-1 draw would be a satisfactory end to the week.

We then trek down to Devon on Tuesday night for the postponed Plymouth encounter from last month, with Argyle remaining a hard-to-beat side who look almost certain to avoid relegation comfortably this year. They haven't beaten us at Home Park since August 1992, and our last visit fourteen years ago ended in a 1-0 win courtesy of Simon Cox; whether our away form will allow us the same outcome this time is more doubtful, and how we get on will probably be a barometer of our chances for the rest of the season. Win, and we can keep looking upward as the long-shot underdogs in the race going on above us; lose or draw, and it may be a case of playoff consolidation between now and May.