West Brom V AFC Bournemouth at The Hawthorns: LIVE

West Brom V AFC Bournemouth - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.WBA boss Tony Pulis: Jurgen Klopp deflecting attention with long-ball accusationWest Brom boss Tony Pulis believes Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp was trying to deflect attention from the Reds' failings when he claimed Albion "only played long balls" at Anfield last weekend.Klopp celebrated Divock Origi's stoppage-time equaliser like it was a winner six days ago, pumping his fists towards the Main Stand and taking his players to salute the Kop after the fiery 2-2 draw on Merseyside.The managers did not shake hands after the game, with Klopp going on to say Albion "only played long balls". Baggies winger James McClean then described the German as "a bit of an idiot" in the press this week."It was disappointing, but he's got his opinions and he can say what he wants," Pulis said of Klopp's comments."We apologise. We actually played three longer passes in 99 minutes than what Liverpool played in that game. Sky TV came out with that stat."So as a football club we apologise to Liverpool for playing three more longer passes than they did. There's always a bit of spin put on things these days."But if I had a team that was worth B#200million, playing against a team that was worth less than B#20million and we never won that game, I'd be doing my best to divert it away from the fact that I had 10 times more value on the pitch than my opposition and couldn't win."I'm not annoyed - I'm just stating the facts. Forget all the spin - that's the facts."That was the value of our team on the pitch."I don't know the fella and I don't want to say anything else. They were the facts."West Brom now face a match with in-form Bournemouth - a test Pulis believes will be "more difficult" than the trip to Liverpool."We've got a big game on Saturday, a game we think will be more difficult than the Liverpool game," he said."Bournemouth are well coached, they defend well and their last five goals have all come from set-plays, so they're very good off set-plays which is again an important part of our game."For the teams that don't have the quality some of the others have got, it's a way of scoring and working situations out to score goals and win games."Stephane Sessegnon could return to the squad after a hamstring injury, but Claudio Yacob is unavailable following a family bereavement.Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe aims to overcome former mentor Pulis and build on an "incredible" week with victory.The Cherries head to the Hawthorns on the back of victories at first Chelsea and then at home to Manchester United which have lifted them clear of the bottom three.Howe, 38, was a schoolboy apprentice at Bournemouth when Baggies boss Pulis made his first steps into management, taking over at Dean Court from Harry Redknapp in 1992.While he looks back on those formative years with fondness, Howe knows there can be no room for sentiment when the two men face off in the dugout on Saturday afternoon."I remember my first pre-season here coming out of school at 16 when Tony was manager, and it was a great experience for me, my first taste of professional football every day," Howe said at a press conference."The pre-season we endured was really tough, but it was a great learning experience and opened my eyes to how fit and disciplined you had to be and how much you needed to devote your life to football really."It was those few weeks which had a big shaping on how I looked after myself physically, so I have a lot to thank Tony for in that period."Howe recalled: "Tony was the type of manager who was very hands-on with the centre of excellence, I remember at 14, 15 and 16, when Tony was finishing his playing career and would want to learn more about coaching, so would come down to take sessions."It was hard, but was really enjoyable, with good principles in the sessions."A lot of his experiences definitely rubbed off onto me and I regard Tony as a good friend and someone that I am very thankful for with his passion for football."Howe revealed there was now a positive vibe back around the south coast club, who had not won in eight Premier League matches before beating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge."I don't think we can better the week we have had. It has been an incredible few days, which just goes to show the swings in football," he said.

Source: PAR