West Bromich Albion boss Tony Pulis rued his sides inability to hold on to a lead against Peterborough in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday. The West Midlands club now face 3 games in the next week and something which Pulis revealed “it was the last thing we wanted”. The Baggies host Swansea City tomorrow night in the Premier League with both sides sitting precariously above the relegation zone.

West Brom twice took the lead against Peterborough on Saturday through Saido Berahino but for the second consecutive round, the Baggies will have to come through a replay to progress. Speaking to wba.co.uk post match, Pulis stated “leading twice, we expect to come through, I couldn’t really see them scoring, they had a few long range shots, the 2 goals we have conceded we are very disappointed with”

With the Baggies sitting just 7 points above the relegation places, Pulis acknowledges that the next two games are crucial in terms of their survival. After hosting Swansea tomorrow night, Pulis’s men travel to face Newcastle on Saturday, “we play midweek this week, we play next midweek as well. They are difficult games at a difficult time in respective of games. They will take it steady up until the next game and work from then”

• Sit 14th on 28 points
• League Record – P23  W7  D7  L9  F22  A30
• Home Record – P12  W4  D3  L5  F14  A17
• Last Home games (most recent first) – DDDWWLDWL
• Form in last 8 Premier league games – W2 D3 L3

Berahino netted twice on Saturday and Pulis hopes that people understand what the West Brom front man is about, “I hope people recognise and see what he is about. His sharpness and fitness is not anywhere near what it was last year. It is no surprise he has pretty much 6 months of not really being involved. You put him in front of goal and he has that instinct to score”. The Engalnd U21 international has been subject to interest from Newcastle, Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day but currently he looks to be staying at the Hawthorns.

• Kept 8 clean sheets, 4 of them at home
• Kept 2 in the last 5 home games and 3 in their last 8 games in all competitions
• 4 of their 5 home defeats have been by a 1 goal margin

The Baggies have added Tottenham youngster Alex Pritchard on loan until the end of the season. Pritchard has not played this season after picking up an injury in the summer with England U21’s but the 22 year old attacking midfielder is looking to make an impact at the Hawthorns. Speaking to wba.co.uk earlier today, “I’m here and excited to get going. I spoke to Pulis and his coaches, I was told to do my best”. Pricthard added “I‘m an attacking player, I like to get on the ball, make things happen and have an eye for goal”

• Failed to score in 8 games, 3 of them at home
• Only failed to score 3 times in their last 14 games all comps
• Have not scored more than twice in any premier league game this season
• All 7 of theirs wins have been by a 1 goal margin
• Both teams have scored in 10 of 23 games and only 7 of their 12 home games

Assistant manager David Kemp commented on Pricthard’s arrival “Alex is an exciting player, he has been out on loan twice and hopefully he can make an impact. We are assessing his fitness”. Pritchard came through Spurs youth academy and has had two spells out on loan in the football league with Swindon and Brentford but it now looking to step up to Premier League Level.

• Joint second lowest Scorers with Swansea only netting 22 goals
• Scored 14 of their 22 goals between minutes 31-60
• Scored 1/3 of their home goals between 31-45 minutes but have not scored in the opening 15 minutes
• Conceded 12 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches
• The Baggies would sit 10th if games ended after 60 minutes
• Join top scorers with 3 goals Rondon, James Morrison and Saido Berianho

David Kemp spoke to wba.co.uk about the Swansea game tomorrow, “it is a tough game tomorrow against Swansea, it is a big game for us, we will be doing all we can to get the 3 points. We have prepared well for the game and hopefully we will get the three points” Kemp did confirm that his side “are hoping to have Darren Fletcher and Ben Foster back tomorrow, the games are coming thick and fast so we will have to check”

• Record scoring first W6 L2 – at home W3 D2
• Record conceding first – W1 D4 L7 – at home W1 D1 L3
• Have only won 1 of their last 34 games in the Premier League conceding first
• 5 of their 7 wins have ended 1-0

Swansea midfielder Jack Cork revealed that his sides back to back victories over Watford and Everton has given his side a boost in confidence. After getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Oxford United in the 3rd Round, the Swans had a rare weekend off but after their win at Goodison Park in their last outing, they are hoping to produce the same outcome tomorrow night.

• Sit 15th on 25 points
• League Record – P22  W6  D7  L10  F22  A31
• Away record – P11  W2  D3  L6  F10  A15
• Last Away games (most recent first) – WLLDLLLW
• Form in last 8 games – W3 D2 L3 F8  A9

Speaking to swanseacity.net earlier today Cork stated “we needed the two recent wins because it gave us a real boost, no-one expected us to win at Everton especially as we had never won there in the league but that result really raises the confidence levels”. Only three sides have taken less points in the Premier League since the start of September and Cork understands “when there is a lot of pressure on you, it makes it harder to perform but when you get 2 consecutive victories it eases that pressure significantly”

• Kept 6 clean sheets, only 1 away from home
• Kept 1 clean sheet in their last 5 and 4 in their last 10 games
• 6 of their 10 defeats have been by only 1 goal
• 2/3 of their away goals have been conceded in their 2nd half
• Conceded 13 of their 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches
• Both teams have scored in 11 of their 23 matches and only 7 of their 11 away games

The trip to the Hawthorns will only be Francesco Guidolin’s second match in charge of the Swans after being appointed in early January. Guiodlin was in the stands as his side beat Watford then oversaw he sides away victory at Everton last time out. Defender Federico Fernandez worked under Guidolin in Italy and understands that the 60 year old will add experience at the Liberty Stadium. Speaking to swanseacity.net “we are learning different aspects of tactics from him so we’ve done a lot of hard work already, he works every day to change something whether that be formations, set pieces or strategy”

• Failed to score in 9 games, 4 of them away from home
• Only Newcastle and Palace (10) have failed to score in more games
• Scored in their last 5 games in all competitions
• 5 of their 6 wins have been by 1 goal
• Scored 13 of 22 goals in the first half of games

Fernandez that Guidolin message to the players has been “to play a good aggressive tempo when we have the ball and defend as one when we aren’t in possession, in the last 2 games we have picked up 6 points and was very important in terms of confidence going into the next match. I think we could see the benefits from the changes he has made”

Guidolin revealed after the win at Everton to swanseacity.net “I am very happy, it is a dream to manage in the Premier League and we played very well”. The Italian has managed all over Italy lasted managing Udinese in 2014 and it working alongside Alan Curtis at the Liberty Stadium. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s clash with West Brom, Guidolin stated to swanseacity.net “the table looks better after the 2 wins, we have another difficult match against a good team, it is important to have a balance on the pitch, I have some other ideas but at the moment I can’t change too much”

• Only Norwich, Sunderland (17) and Villa (9) took less points in the league since September than Swansea
• All 9 of their away point came against bottom half sides
• 17 of their 25 points have come against bottom half sides

Swansea have added Alberto Paloschi in an 8 million pound deal from Chievo during the last couple of days as they look to bolster their attacking options. Paloschi joins the Welsh club after 5 and half years at Chievo with Guidolin revealing that he worked with the player at Parma earlier in his career, “he is a good player and will be important for us and hopefully he will help the team get results”.

• Only 6 players have scored in the Premier League for Swansea
• Between Andre Ayew (8), Batemis Gomis (5) and Gylfi Sigurdsson (5) have scored 18 of Swansea 22 goals

With the Swans sitting three points behind the Baggies in the table, Cork understands the importance of the game at the Hawthorns tomorrow. “It is a big game, maybe people outside the club won’t think that but we can go above them in the table if we win” Cork added “that would be 3 wins on the bounce and for us that would be massive”

• Record scoring first – W4 D2  away  W1 D1
• Have won 12 of their last 14 PL games when scoring first
• Record Conceding first – W2 D2 L9  away W1 D1 L5
• Only Norwich, Villa (16) and Sunderland have conceding first in more matches than Swansea (13)

Team News

West Brom could hand a debut to Sandro who signed on loan from Queens Park Rangers in the transfer window while Alex Pritchard is available after being registered before the noon deadline today. Ben Foster and Darren Fletcher could be included after recovering from injuries.

Alberto  Paloschi could be handed a debut at the Hawthorns partnering Andre Ayew in attack.

Head to Head – West Brom 13, Draw 7, Swansea 16

Last Meeting- 26/12/15 – Swansea 1-0 West Brom

• Only 1 of the last 5 meetings has seen both teams score
• Swansea have won 6 of the last 9 meetings and 8 of the last 12 meetings
• There has not been a draw in the last 12 games,  last draw came in 1982
• West Brom have won 3 of the last 9 meetings, 2 of them at the Hawthorns

Prediction – West Brom 0-1 Swansea