West Brom v Bournemouth: Baggies to pick Cherries apart at the Hawthorns

Paul Robinson
24 February 2017

Gone are the days of Tony Pulis parking the bus

Join

Twitter

Facebook

View the Betslip

It's eighth versus 14th at the Hawthorns this weekend and Paul Robinson can't see past a comfortable home win...

"The fact that the hosts are odds-against means that they have to be one of the value bets of the weekend."

Back West Brom @ 2.111/10

West Brom v Bournemouth
Saturday February 25, 15:00 GMT

West Brom

The Baggies have had a nice break since their last match and while they would have liked to have been involved in FA Cup action, the fact that they are up in eighth place in the Premier League more than makes up for it.

A fortnight ago they extended their unbeaten run to four matches thanks to an injury time Gareth McAuley equaliser at West Ham and that result kept them within four points of Everton in seventh.

Tony Pulis doesn't have the largest squad in the world to choose from but pretty much all of his first choice players are fit, and perhaps even more importantly, in form.

Salomon Rondon's return of seven league goals from 25 matches may not sound like the stats of a player who's made a huge improvement to the team, but his all round play is excellent and he helps create space for the three attacking midfielders to run into.

Bournemouth

The Cherries are on the slide thanks to a run of results that has seen them win just one of their last nine Premier League games - six of which ended in defeat.

Last time out they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City and that came on the back of a 6-3 loss at Everton and a hugely disappointing 2-0 reverse at home to the struggling, Crystal Palace.

Eddie Howe will be looking over his shoulder as the gap to the relegation zone is just six points and the majority of the teams below them have all picked up more points than they have in 2017.

Their defending has seemingly gone to piece since Nathan Ake returned to Chelsea and an injury to Simon Francis could see Tyrone Mings having to partner Steve Cook in central defence.

Match Odds
West Brom 2.111/10 Bournemouth 4.1 The Draw 3.55/2

The fact that the hosts are odds-against means that they have to be one of the value bets of the weekend. I just can't understand it at all. When I saw the market I assumed that they had a few injuries to contend with, but there's nothing of the sort.

As mentioned above, West Brom are unbeaten in four and they have won six of their last seven in front of their own fans. I guess it could be argued that they came against Burnley, Watford, Swansea, Hull, Sunderland and Stoke - but Bournemouth are in the lower end of that bracket, and they're massively out of form.

The visitors have taken just one point from a possible 18 since their late collapse against Arsenal and away from home it's five defeats in six - conceding a minimum of three goals in all of the losses.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Over 2.5 Goals 2.111/10 Under 2.5 Goals 1.910/11

At the same price as a home win, I'm going to tip up over 2.5 goals as well. I'm not as bullish about this selection as the above, but I still think it should be the favourite in this particular market.

Bournemouth's defence is in disarray and only Swansea have conceded more goals in the entire division. They have shipped 18 goals in half a dozen matches on the road of late and they even let Hull City put three past them.

West Brom's last two home results were 1-0 and 2-0 wins but they dominated those games by all accounts and were value for more. Prior to that, five of their previous six at the Hawthorns had gone over 2.5, as did their latest outing at the London Stadium.

Recommended Bets
Back West Brom @ 2.111/10
Back Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.111/10

Opta Stat

Only Leicester (1) have collected fewer Premier League points in 2017 than the Cherries (2). Bournemouth are 9.417/2 to be relegated.

***

For individual match previews of every single Premier League game visit our dedicated Premier League section here on Betting.Betfair.

Bet 5 Get 5 on Bet Builders

You can get a £5 Free Bet when you place a £5 Bet Builder on selected Football matches this season. Keep an eye on the Betfair site for more info. T&Cs apply.