West Brom V Burnley at The Hawthorns : Match Preview

28 September 2014 12:59
West Brom V Burnley - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Put your faith in us - Irvine

Head coach Alan Irvine wants West Brom to drive a wedge between TV audiences as they go head-to-head with the Ryder Cup.

The Baggies host Burnley on Sunday afternoon, with the televised Sky clash up against the finale of the Ryder Cup as Europe and the USA battle it out at Gleneagles.

West Brom scored two goals in the last three minutes to beat Hull 3-2 in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday for their own thrilling finish.

And Irvine wants Albion to provide the same entertainment as they compete with the golfing greats.

"We'll certainly try," he said. "I'll check and see when they chose this game. I hadn't thought about the scheduling until now.

"People will see Burnley have had three 0-0 draws - but they've also had a lot of goal chances.

"We like to go forwards - I don't think it'll be 0-0 - it'll be exciting.

"But if it's the same ending as Hull and the result's in our favour then I'll take it now if that's on offer.

"I'd rather we didn't let teams back into the game like we did on Wednesday.

"Will it be as exciting as that? It'd be nice if it was but only if the result's the same."

West Brom are sweating on the fitness of strikers Brown Ideye and Victor Anichebe.

Ideye injured his ankle scoring his first goal for the club in Wednesday's victory over Hull while Anichebe is struggling after a hernia operation.

Saido Berahino, who scored the winner against Hull, and Georgios Samaras are primed to start up front after coming on in midweek.

Chris Baird is still suffering from the illness which kept him out against the Tigers and is likely to sit out the game.

For Burnley, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes and Matt Taylor, who has an Achilles problem, will all definitely miss out, while Kieran Trippier (groin), David Jones (thigh) and Dean Marney (hamstring) are nursing minor problems.

Loanees Michael Keane and Nathaniel Chalobah, who have yet to appear since their deadline-day switches, are among those waiting in the wings.

Steven Reid helped West Brom firmly establish themselves as a Barclays Premier League club in his four years at The Hawthorns and hopes he can now do likewise with Burnley.

The Baggies earned an unwanted reputation as a "yo-yo club" in the previous decade due to the fact they alternated between the top two divisions thanks to a series of promotions and relegations.

Since 2010, though, they have twice finished inside the top 10 and are currently in the midst of a fifth straight Premier League campaign, with Reid having been part of the previous four.

The former Republic of Ireland international, who visits his former employers this Sunday, insists West Brom's growth during that time should be seen as an example to other promoted clubs.

"It was four years of success," he said of his time in the midlands.

"The club had been labelled a yo-yo club - being up and down in most seasons in the Premier League - but overall I look back at four years of success and four years of Premier League (football).

"I think it's a model that no doubt Burnley are going to be looking at it as it's a similar sort of squad.

"I was involved in the squad with West Brom that got promoted as I was there on loan. It's a similar size of squad and club so it's a model that we'll be looking at and we can do that ourselves over the next few years."


Source: PA