Newcastle vs West Brom — Tips & Analysis

West Brom +1.5: West Brom are hard to beat by a big margin, and that is the case for backing them here. They have not lost by 2 or more goals in their last 16 games. They have won 7, tied 7 and lost only 2 in that run, and they let in under a goal a game. They are also playing well right now. They won 4-1 at Rotherham in the last round and beat Burnley 3-1 on Sunday. Newcastle are the bigger club, but they are stretched thin. They play three days after a 2-2 with Liverpool and are expected to make a lot of changes, with young and fringe players in line to start. Their defence lets in almost 2 goals a game, and they have won by 2 or more in only 2 of their last 13. The last 17 meetings between these clubs read 7W-5D-5L to Newcastle, so this has always been close. A 2-1 Newcastle win is the likely shape, and a one goal game is what we want. The risk is that nobody knows how strong the Newcastle team will be. Even their fringe players carry quality the Championship rarely sees, and one early goal could turn this into a long night. We are happy to back West Brom to stay in the game.