Newcastle vs West Brom preview, team news, kick-off, prediction, live on Sky Sports

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Newcastle vs West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday, live on Sky Sports (kick-off 3pm).

Team news

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce will be without "a big chunk" of first team regulars for his side's Premier League clash with West Brom. Bruce would not reveal the identities of the players affected by the coronavirus which has swept through the club's training ground.

Provided he is one of those unaffected, Matt Ritchie could be pushing for a recall after returning to the bench for the win at Crystal Palace following a shoulder injury.

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West Brom will be without Matheus Pereira, who was sent off in the first half of last weekend's 5-1 loss to Crystal Palace. The midfielder begins a three-match suspension following an unsuccessful appeal by his club.

Skipper Jake Livermore is available to make his return to action after a positive coronavirus test.

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How to follow

Live Premier League

Newcastle vs West Brom will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off at 3pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Watch the Premier League live on Sky Sports

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At least 146 Premier League games will be shown live on Sky Sports in the 2020/21 season. The Premier League has further increased the number of televised games this season from 200 to 231, with over half of the extra fixtures set to be shown live on Sky Sports.

Overall, Sky Sports will be showing at least 146 Premier League matches live throughout the 2020/21 season, continuing to bring you all the latest twists, turns and shocks at the home of the Premier League.

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There will also be two additional midweek programmes - one will be played across the weeks commencing January 11 and 18 and the second will be in the week commencing May 10. All of these games will be broadcast live.

You can also follow the action with our dedicated live blogs on the Sky Sports website and app, and watch free match highlights from every game shortly after full-time on our digital platforms and YouTube channel.

Jones Knows prediction

Team news. Team news. Team news. That's all anyone should be thinking before getting seriously involved in this one as it's still unclear who is and isn't available for the Toon.

It's impossible to analyse how Newcastle's Covid-19 outbreak is going to influence this encounter. Will the week off help in terms of freshness? Or will the logistical problems with players isolating away from the training ground make this match difficult for Steve Bruce to prepare for?

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The Baggies remain statistically the worst team in the Premier League - a theory backed up by their capitulation against Crystal Palace. But I'll side tentatively with Bruce's boys - with no confidence whatsoever.

An area of betting interest to focus is Matt Phillips picking up a card for West Brom at 13/2.

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Slaven Bilic has plugged the gap at left-wing back in the absence of Conor Townsend with Phillips, who is not a natural defender. When the Palace game was a fair fight with 11 vs 11, Phillips made two fouls and generally looked uncomfortable when asked to do his defensive duties. Newcastle do like to hit on the counter and Phillips may find himself in prime location to get caught out.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-1 (9/1 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• Newcastle lost their last meeting with West Brom in the Premier League, going down 0-1 at home in April 2018. They've not lost consecutive league games against the Baggies since a run of three between 1977 and 1984.
• West Brom are looking to win consecutive away league games against Newcastle for the first time since September 1966, following their 1-0 win at St James' Park in April 2018.
• Newcastle are looking to pick up back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since June, which was also the last time the Magpies kept consecutive clean sheets in the competition (in a run of three).
• West Bromwich Albion have conceded the most goals (23), have the highest expected goals against total (22.2), faced the most shots (167) and shots on target (68) in the Premier League this season.
• No team has failed to score in more different Premier League games than West Bromwich Albion this season (six). After netting five goals in their first three league games this season, the Baggies have netted just three in their last eight.
• Though Newcastle have had the fewest shots (86) and second fewest shots on target (28) in the Premier League this season, no side has scored with a higher percentage of their efforts on target than the Magpies this term (42.9 per cent - 12/28).
• Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has lost more Premier League games against promoted sides than any other manager in the competition's history (28). Meanwhile, of the 31 managers to have taken charge of 30+ such games in the competition, only Tony Pulis and Jim Smith (33.3%) have a lower win rate vs promoted sides than Bruce (35.9 per cent - won 23/64).

Pitch to Post Preview podcast

This week on the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast, Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporters James Cooper and Ben Ransom to discuss the Manchester derby, including whether David de Gea will be dropped, why John Stones is back in the City side, and how it could all play out.

Their colleague Michael Bridge is on the line to discuss Crystal Palace vs table-toppers Tottenham, plus Sky Sports Data Editor Adam Smith has the numbers behind Arsenal's attack and Liverpool's strength in depth - as well as his Pitch for what will happen in the Premier League this weekend!

Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox

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