Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Championship clash between Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

West Bromwich Albion have the possibility of going top of the Championship on Wednesday when they travel to Wales to face Swansea City, searching for consecutive victories.

On the other hand, the hosts shall be hoping to push away from the relegation zone and start climbing the table after a mixed start to the season.

Match preview

Swansea City manager Russell Martin pictured on August 28, 2021 © Reuters

Swansea City have had an inconsistent start to the season that has seen them pick up three victories, five draws and four losses, which is something they must improve upon to start progressing up the table.

Despite the difficulties the team have faced, they head into this game on the back of two fixtures without a loss, with a goalless draw against Derby County being followed up by beating Cardiff City.

Russell Martin's squad have kept three clean sheets in their previous four matches, showcasing their defensive qualities, which they will be hoping to display again on Wednesday when they face a team who have scored 21 times in the league already.

Swansea's performance on Saturday showcased the team at their best, having won 3-0 thanks to goals from Jamie Paterson, Joel Piroe and Jake Bidwell.

The Swans have gone five games in a row without a loss at the Swansea.com Stadium, which will give the squad plenty of confidence heading into this fixture.

West Bromwich Albion's manager Valerien Ismael after the match on October 15, 2021 © Reuters

The visitors also come into this match with momentum, having responded to their first loss of the campaign immediately on Saturday when they defeated Birmingham City.

West Brom had been beaten by Stoke City before the recent international break, but a goal from Karlan Grant led to a 1-0 win on Saturday, immediately putting the pressure back on Bournemouth.

The Baggies are just three points behind the current league leaders as they search for an immediate return to the Premier League, therefore a victory has the potential of putting them on top via goal difference.

Valerien Ismael's team have been strong both offensively and defensively this season, and they have brought some fantastic team performances throughout the campaign.

However, the West Brom boss will be very aware of the fact that their previous trip away from home led to a defeat, which he will be keen to avoid a repeat of.

Swansea City Championship form:

Swansea City form (all competitions):

West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

MK Dons manager Russell Martin reacts on July 31, 2021 © Reuters

Ryan Bennett made his return to the starting lineup on Saturday after a period of time out injured, while Olivier Ntcham was also back in the squad following a hamstring problem, appearing from the bench.

Ethan Laird also came into the team against Cardiff and considering Swansea put together an impressive 3-0 victory, there is a chance that Martin might name an unchanged XI.

Alex Mowatt returned for West Brom team against Birmingham City, boosting the midfield options at Ismael's disposal, although he was not able to play a full 90 minutes.

However, Saturday's fixture came too soon for Grady Diangana who is still suffering from a hamstring problem, but with several more days worth of training, he could be an option on Wednesday.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Bennett, Naughton, Manning; Laird, Downes, Grimes, Bidwell; Smith, Paterson; Piroe

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ajayi, Bartley, Clarke; Furlong, Livermore, Mowatt, Townsend; Phillips, Grant, Robinson

SM words green background

We say: Swansea City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion

Both teams head into this particular fixture with lots of confidence because of their recent results, and that should lead to a closely-contested match.

However, the visitors have only lost once this season and that is unlikely to change this weekend, even though Swansea will push them.

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 37.19%. A win for Swansea City had a probability of 34.56% and a draw had a probability of 28.2%.

The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.83%) and 0-2 (6.93%). The likeliest Swansea City win was 1-0 (11.17%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.22%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood.