Sunderland v West Bromwich Albion - Premier League Preview

After an incredible run of form, Sunderland have the chance to secure their Premier League status for this season with a very winnable home game against West Brom. Although the away side haven’t yet mathematically secured their Premier League spot for 2014-15, the fact that Norwich have such a dismal goal difference means that in practical terms they have already stayed up realistically.

Thus, this is another end of season match in which one team has considerably more reason to be motivated than the other. While West Brom’s management will doubtless make all of the right noises about needing to ensure that they are actually safe from the drop, the reality is that their players will already know that they are safe.

Sunderland’s upturn in form since they managed to get a point from a trip to the Etihad Stadium has been quite incredible. A few weeks ago, bottom of the table and with visits to Manchester City and Chelsea to come, the Black Cats looked dead and buried. Picking up four points from those away days at the top two teams in the Premier League underlined the fact that they had the quality to stay in the division, and now they are odds on to do so.

Looking at Sunderland’s team from one to eleven, it is hard to believe that they should consider themselves relegation candidates anyway. They have a very solid, experienced and dependable, if injury prone, centre-back partnership in Wes Brown and John O’ Shea. They have the constant threat of the pace and skill of Adam Johnson. They have a pretty strong midfield with Lee Cattermole anchoring it, and other good players such as Giaccherini and Larsson within it. And Connor Wickham has scored goals for them in recent weeks, while they also have the experienced Steven Fletcher and Jozy Altidore in reserve.

Thus, I would say man for man that they’re actually a better team than West Brom, and certainly one with more experience. The Baggies may fare better next term if some of their young, talented players kick on, but there is no doubt that they have missed Romelu Lukaku this year, after the Belgian striker opted to spend the season on loan at Everton. So I would tip Sunderland to win this one under any circumstances, but considering that there is far more at stake for the home side than West Brom, I would make this a shoo-in. Time and time again at the end of the season, we see insipid performances from teams who already look thoroughly ready for the beach.

The odds don’t particularly reflect this, and Sunderland are backable to pick up three points. You can get better than even odds on this outcome with Bet 365 (21/20). In terms of a value bet, I actually see the Black Cats winning this one fairly comfortably, so my tip for this fixture reflects that.

Safe Bet – Sunderland to win (21/20 with bet365) Value Bet – Sunderland 2 – 0 West Bromwich Albion (11/1 with BetVictor)

Go To bet365

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05/05/2014     © Frixo 2026