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Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs. Swansea City

Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City at The Hawthorns.

West Bromwich Albion can distance themselves from the relegation zone in the Premier League with a victory over Swansea City at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a point against Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday thanks to strikes from Chris Brunt and Brown Ideye, which could turn out to be a very important result for Tony Pulis's side.

Pulis has brought stability to the club since arriving at the start of January and managed to add the experience of Darren Fletcher to the team to aid in their fight against the drop.

One problem that has arisen for the 57-year-old is the attitude of striker Saido Berahino, who admitted that he wants to move on to bigger things at the end of the season. As a result, Pulis benched the 21-year-old for the clash against the Clarets.

Berahino has been a vital player for the Baggies this season, scoring nine goals in the Premier League, so Pulis faces an important decision over whether to recall the England Under-21 international for the clash against the Swans.

West Brom's home record has not been great this season as they have taken just 12 points from their 12 matches at The Hawthorns, scoring just 14 goals to aid their struggles.

No team in the top flight has conceded more goals at home than the 19 conceded by the Baggies, as they have managed to keep just three clean sheets this season, leaving Pulis with a lot of work to do to turn their season around.

The Welshman has no new injury worries for the contest against Garry Monk's men, but will still be without Youssouf Mulumbu, who is yet to return from international duty with the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations following their third-place finish.

The Swans have edged the meeting between the teams in the Premier League as they won five out of the seven contests, including their 3-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium earlier this season.

Monk's side will be hopeful that they continue their run of good form against the Baggies to build off their victory over Southampton and draw with Sunderland last time out.

The Swans have managed to pick up points since the turn of the year without producing their best football following the sale of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City, bar the anomaly of their 5-0 defeat to Chelsea.

They have performed well on the road this season, securing three wins and three draws in their 11 matches away from the Liberty Stadium, proving they have become a solid unit under the management of Monk.

The 35-year-old could name an unchanged team for the clash at The Hawthorns as he will only be without Gylfi Sigurdsson, who is serving the final game of his three-match suspension.

New signings Kyle Naughton and Jack Cork are likely to continue, but Nelson Oliveira could push Modou Barrow out of the starting XI if Monk opts to make a change to his lineup.

West Brom

Form in Premier League: LDWDLD
Form in all competitions: WWDWLD

Probable starting lineup: Foster, Baird, Dawson, McAuley, Lescott, McManaman, Fletcher, Yacob, Brunt, Sessegnon, Berahino

Swansea

Form in Premier League: LDDLWD
Form in all competitions: WDLLWD

Probable starting lineup: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Ki, Cork, Dyer, Shelvey, Gomis, Oliveira

Sports Mole says: 1-1


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Brown Ideye of West Brom celebrates scoring their second goal with Chris Brunt of West Brom during the Barclays Premier League match between Burnley and West Bromwich Albion at Turf Moor on February 8, 2015
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