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West
Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 1st February 2005, 7.45pm. |
| 22nd January 2005 |
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| Position |
20th |
17th |
| Form |
D D W L W D |
D L W L L W |
| Last Match |
Tottenham
Hotspur (H) 1-1 |
Tottenham Hotspur (H) 3-0 |
Last Meeting
23rd October 2004 |
Crystal Palace 3 (Hall
5, Johnson pen 12, 50)
West Bromwich Albion 0 |
Last Baggies win in this fixture
was 2-0 on 27th March 2004
Darren Moore and Lloyd Dyer scored late goals
to give Albion three vital points in their promotion-winning campaign;
Palace were in the midst of a great run which took them to the Premiership
via the play-offs. |
The first of two huge
games for the Baggies is against Crystal Palace on 1st February.
Palace are the best placed of the bottom four sides both in terms
of league position and, it seems, having the tools to get wins.
Iain Dowie's team have a goalscorer that is on fire this season
in Andy Johnson and, assuming he doesn't leave between now and the
closure of the transfer window, he will be the man to watch.
The other AJ scored twice when the clubs met at Selhurst Park in
October in Megson's last game in charge. That was the second of
five wins that Palace have picked up this season.
Palace will have the advantage of not playing the the FA Cup three
days before the match as they lost at Sunderland in the third round.
It shouldn't prove to be too much of a boost as Albion's fitness
has never been in question this season despite conceding a number
of late goals.
The match is simply one that Albion must win. Three points will
move Albion to within two points of the London club; defeat will
leave them eight points adrift of safety. This is a real six pointer
if ever there was one.
Palace haven't won at the Hawthorns since December 1995 having lost
five of their six appearances at the Shrine since that date.
Andy Johnson may be Palace's key player, but the key to the game
will be midfield. Dowie plays five across the middle which has proved
fairly effective, and the Albion midfield will need to work hard.
I don't believe that Robson should change his formation as a result,
as Albion need to win the game and should play their own game. The
team has settled well into the 4-4-2 formation, and with Greening,
Wallwork, Scimeca and Gera all willing to put the effort in, they
should be able to cope with Palace's five man midfield.
One player that Albion may not have to cope with is Wayne Routledge.
The young winger seems intent on leaving Selhurst Park and I'd be
surprised if he's still there at the end of January. He is a dangerous
player, so his absence would be good news for the Baggies.
It's number one of the Big Three, the Big Three that Albion need
to win.
Jon Want, 22nd January 2005.
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