West Bromwich Albion vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
The HawthornsAttendance24,162.
Saturday 25 February 2017 15:00, UK
Jack Wilshere will have a late fitness test ahead of Bournemouth's Premier League trip to West Brom on Saturday.
The on-loan Arsenal midfielder limped out of the Cherries' defeat by Manchester City on February 13 with another ankle problem.
Bournemouth used their weekend off to head to Real Madrid's training base in Spain and return to league action looking for their first top-flight win since New Year's Eve.
West Brom are currently riding a four-match unbeaten run in the league and have targeted a 50-point finish. They are 13 points shy of that mark with 13 games remaining.
If achieved, it would be the Baggies' highest top-flight points tally since they finished 12th on 55 points in 1985.
West Brom boss Tony Pulis has "one or two niggles" to assess ahead of his side's first game in two weeks.
Jonny Evans (calf) and Claudio Yacob (appendicitis) came off the substitutes' bench in the 2-2 draw at West Ham following absences.
The pair could be in contention to start after a period of rest and recuperation.
Simon Francis will miss out with a hamstring injury while goalkeeper Adam Federici and striker Callum Wilson (both knee) are longer-term absentees.
Wilshere must prove his fitness before kick-off to have any chance of featuring.
West Brom's loss in this fixture last season was their only previous home defeat in six league games against the Cherries (W3 D2).
Bournemouth have won three of their last four meetings with the Baggies in all competitions (D1), including the reverse fixture 1-0 back in September.
All four of Bournemouth's Premier League goals against West Brom have come in the second half, with three of these coming in the 79th minute or later.
Indeed, the last player to score a first-half goal for Bournemouth against West Brom in any competition was Eddie Howe - in a 1-0 FA Cup win in January 1999.
West Brom have the lowest average possession in the Premier League this season (36.8 per cent).
Only Leicester (1) have collected fewer Premier League points in 2017 than the Cherries (2).
The Cherries have also conceded the most goals this calendar year (18).
The only goalkeeper to make more saves in the Premier League this season than Ben Foster (89) is Tom Heaton (104).
Gareth McAuley has found the net five times for West Brom this campaign - the only Premier League defender with more goals this season is James Milner (6).
Only Liverpool (2,932km) and Manchester City (2,873km) have ran further as a team than West Brom this season (2,852km).
Bournemouth were great at the start of the season, but they have hit a brick wall. I think playing West Brom is a difficult game for them. Pulis has got a good team now and The Hawthorns will be a tough place to visit.
I think Bournemouth need to draw the line somewhere and say, 'Right, let's get out there and get a result'. At the moment, they are a bit too open for me. They play with two wide wingers and they spread the game open, so I think they need to start closing it up.
They need to be really tight and if they can get a 0-0 against West Brom, I think that would be a phenomenal result.
MERSON PREDICTS: 2-0 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
West Brom are Sky Bet's 21/10 favourites for the victory, with Bournemouth priced at 13/5, while the draw is a 12/5 chance.
The Cherries' loss of form has seen them cut to 15/2 for relegation, while the Baggies have been removed from the betting entirely due to their impressive campaign. Salomon Rondon heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2, while Josh King is rated the visitors' main threat at 13/2 to net first.
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