19-02-2023, 11:04
![[Image: 00000000000.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/BB1nNph/00000000000.jpg)
One poor performance and one unlucky one is the long and short of the last ten days for Albion, but on paper, the one point gleaned from those two matches was a disappointing haul that allowed the playoff race to slip a little out of our grasp. Worse still, two more crunch matches await in the coming week, beginning with the trip to Watford on Monday night.
It's our first visit to Vicarage Road in five years, since a 1-0 defeat en route to relegation handed the Hornets their fourth consecutive home win against us; part of a run which has seen us triumph only once in our last eight league encounters. And of course, it renews our acquaintance with Slaven Bilic, appointed six weeks after our most recent game against Watford and now guiding them somewhat uncertainly in pursuit of the playoff pack. In the last month they've managed only four draws and a defeat from a string of tough matches, and so if we have any hope of doing the unlikely tomorrow evening, it lies in their questionable form.
It's still too early in the race to call it a must-win or even a must-not-lose game, and there'll be time to make up lost ground if the worst comes to the worst. But a sustained slump would obviously do us no favours, and if we can manage it, the psychological effect of frustrating Watford on their turf would be as good a prize as any points we get out of it.
"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
