West Bromwich Albion and Barnsley will bring largely miserable campaigns to a close when they meet at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
The Baggies are currently 10th in the Championship table having had hopes of promotion at the start of the season, while the Tykes are already relegated and guaranteed to finish bottom.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following relegation from the Premier League last season, West Brom hoped to bounce straight back and were in the top six from the opening day up until the end of January.
But a severe dip in form cost former Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael his job and Steve Bruce has done little to arrest the slump – Albion have won just five out of 16 games under the 61-year-old.
The Baggies can finish as high as ninth, meaning it will be their lowest finish since 2000. It is the first time since then that they will end outside the top six in a Championship campaign.
Karlan Grant's 78th-minute goal earned a 1-0 victory away at Reading last weekend and West Brom will now be hoping to finish the season with back-to-back wins under Bruce for the first time.
Albion have suffered just three defeats at The Hawthorns all season – no side in the Championship has lost fewer games at home.
© Reuters
Barnsley are the first team in 15 years to reach the Championship playoffs then finish bottom of the table the next season.
Just a year after their surprise top-six finish under Ismael, the Tykes are falling out of the division with barely a whimper. They are winless in eight matches and have suffered four successive defeats.
Their last two matches – a 2-0 loss to Blackpool and a 3-1 defeat to Preston North End – have been overseen by caretaker boss Martin Devaney after Poya Asbaghi was relieved of his duties.
Barnsley have picked up just eight points on the road all season, the lowest tally in the entire EFL. They have earned only one win and scored 15 goals from 22 away games.
The last four matches between these two sides have finished level, with this season's reverse fixture at Oakwell ending goalless. Barnsley have not won on their last six visits to The Hawthorns since victory there in 2000.
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
West Brom have confirmed that Andy Carroll's contract will not be extended beyond this season and he will therefore not play on the final day.
Youngsters Zac Ashworth and Quevin Castro were given game time off the bench against Reading last weekend so could feature again.
Albion have exercised their option to sign Jayson Molumby on a permanent deal, with the midfielder having made 30 appearances on loan this season.
Devaney has handed opportunities to many of Barnsley's academy players since the club's relegation was confirmed, with 19-year-old Aiden Marsh scoring against Preston last weekend.
Jason Sraha, Jordan Helliwell and Isaac Christie-Davies are among the others to have featured and should have another chance to impress.
Romal Palmer limped off in the first half against Preston and with his contract expiring this summer, Barnsley fans are likely to have seen the last of the midfielder in a Reds shirt.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Button; O'Shea, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Reach, Livermore, Molumby, Robinson; Diangana, Grant
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Walton; Moon, Kitching, Sraha; Helliwell, Christie-Davies, Wolf, Styles; Woodrow, Marsh; Morris
We say: West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Barnsley
A disappointing season is likely to end on a high for West Brom, who despite their struggles have remained hard to beat on home turf. Barnsley will want to say farewell to the Championship with a win, but their awful recent form suggests that there is little chance of that happening.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a West Bromwich Albion win with a probability of 54.93%. A draw had a probability of 24% and a win for Barnsley had a probability of 21.06%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.17%) and 2-1 (9.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.41%), while for a Barnsley win it was 0-1 (6.72%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 2.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that West Bromwich Albion would win this match.
