Swansea vs West Brom prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-31 15:00.
Swansea City ended 2023 with a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Coventry City thanks to a 93rd-minute free-kick. That didn’t do much for their overall outlook, with the Swans having now emerged victorious only once in their last five league matches (W1, D2, L2), just eight points above the relegation zone and still without a permanent manager as caretaker boss Alan Sheehan prepares to take charge of his seventh game.
Facing West Bromwich Albion in South Wales often proves to be a positive fixture for Swansea, who have won six of the last eight home H2Hs (D1, L1). Indeed, the Swans must take any psychological boost they can, as they have only just ended a frustrating six-match winless run on their own patch (D3, L3) with a 2-1 victory over Preston last time out here.
West Brom have had no such lulls to contend with as their 1-0 triumph over Leeds United on Friday saw them solidify their place in the top six, while cutting the gap to fourth to just three points. Encounters involving the Baggies haven’t been particularly action-packed of late, as while they’ve lost just one of their last five (W3, D1, L1), all produced under 2.5 goals and each of the last three ended 1-0.
The travelling faithful will be dreaming of the limited goals going their way, especially as their beloved side have failed to win any of their last 11 away outings played on New Year’s Day (D2, L9). If that rotten sequence is to end here, it would continue a curious eight-game streak of alternating between victories and defeats on the road (W4, L4) after most recently falling 1-0 at Middlesbrough.
Players to watch: Liam Cullen’s precise free-kick salvaged a point for Swansea on Friday, and he could push for a start here after scoring and assisting across his last three appearances, despite barely playing an hour in that time. Trying to outdo him will be West Brom’s Grady Diangana, who had a hand in the only two goals netted in their last two league matches (G1, A1).
Hot stat: West Brom have lost 28 league games played on New Year’s Day – more than any of the current Championship crop.