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Stoke City vs. West Brom: Preview & Prediction

By Jeff Brantley

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: An official Puma EFL Football is seen in goal netting prior to the Sky Bet Championship between Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion at Loftus Road on November 5, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: An official Puma EFL Football is seen in goal netting prior to the Sky Bet Championship between Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion at Loftus Road on November 5, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images) /
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After Saturday, Stoke City’s next match won’t come until December 10th due to the World Cup Break. Which is why Alex Neil and The Potters will be hoping that they can go into the break on a high note against West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Stoke City head into Saturday’s West Brom match sitting at 15th on the table with 25 points. That puts The Potters just three points outside of being within shouting distance of a top ten spot on the table.

For West Brom, The Baggies come into Saturday’s match desperate for points. West Brom as of Friday, sit inside the relegation zone at 22nd on the table with 20 points. As has been the case for the first half of the season though, the Championship table remains very open still with teams at the bottom sitting only 9 points out of the top ten.

How will Stoke City line up against West Brom?

Stoke City Predicted Formation: 3-4-1-2

Stoke City have lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation in their last three matches. They should make that four straight matches after visiting West Brom on Saturday. As laid out earlier this week, a 3-4-1-2 formation allows Stoke City to play off of their strengths and weaknesses.

Until new personnel additions are added in the upcoming transfer window, Stoke City should continue to line up the same way.

Starting XI Prediction: Bursik – Fosu – Souttar – Jagielka – Wilmot – Clarke – Baker – Thompson – Delap – Gayle – Powell

If it’s not broken, there’s nothing to fix. That could be Alex Neil’s feelings heading into Saturday’s match against West Brom. Although Stoke City didn’t dominate their last match against Luton Town, they still grabbed all three points and a clean sheet.

So why change much with the team’s starting XI from the club’s last match? Outside of some tired legs on a shorter week, Neil could roll out the same lineup he started on Tuesday. Plus, with the World Cup break around the corner, there’s no need to rest players for upcoming matches.

The only change that could be made is if Dujon Sterling is fit enough to start at right wing-back. If Sterling is fit enough, he should get the start over Harry Clarke.

Stoke City vs. West Brom Prediction:

Stoke City versus West Brom should be an interesting match on Saturday. West Brom, who have at times been a force in English football, find themselves looking up in November at the rest of the Championship table.

What’s even more baffling, is how West Brom have gotten to this point of the season and sit where they do on the table. At first glance of the underlying stats behind West Brom, The Baggies don’t look like a relegation team.

West Brom are second best in the Championship with 18.1 xGA (expected goals against), are fourth in the league with on average 56.5% possession per game this season, and sit sixth best in the Championship with 25.0 xG (expected goals).

So why haven’t West Brom picked up more points this season and how can Stoke City capitalize on Saturday? The answer can be found somewhere between not enough quality in the final third of the pitch for West Brom and being stun with counter attacks.

West Brom are tied for first in the Championship with 3 counter attack goals given up and despite a high xG number, sit at 22 goals scored this season. Compounding those goal scoring lows, is the fact that West Brom’s highest goal scorers sit at just three goals scored.

Meaning, West Brom rely on team effort to score goals. It may not sound like the worst problem to have, but for team’s like Stoke City it’s something to capitalize on.

For Stoke City, their goal on Saturday should be to let West Brom possess the ball and then pounce on counter attacking play once they regain possession. Plus, Stoke City should also be looking to stay compact defensively.

When a club like West Brom doesn’t have one particular goal scorer or playmaker, they’ll need to rely on pulling teams apart with passes. If Stoke City can stay compact, they should be able to keep West Brom at bay in attack.

Final Prediction:

Stoke City make it back to back wins before the break, winning 2-1.