Sports Mole previews Saturday’s friendly clash between West Bromwich Albion and Peterborough United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
West Bromwich Albion take on Peterborough United in a behind-closed-doors friendly at St. George’s Park on Saturday as both teams continue their pre-season schedule.
The Baggies were defeated 2-1 by Bolton Wanderers in their opening pre-season fixture, while the Posh won their last friendly 7-0 against Spalding United.
Match preview
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After finishing fifth last season and being defeated 3-1 on aggregate by Southampton in the semi-finals of the EFL Championship playoffs, West Brom find themselves gearing up for a fourth consecutive campaign in England’s second division.
Their pre-season preparations got underway last week with a behind-closed-doors friendly against League One outfit Bolton Wanderers, resulting in a 2-1 loss for Carlos Corberan‘s men.
While the result holds no lasting significance, Corberan is likely to be disappointed with the defeat against a weaker opposition, however, there were multiple positives for the Baggies boss to take from the game.
Summer signings Ousmane Diakite and Torbjorn Heggem made their maiden appearances in the second half, with Diakite being particularly impressive, whilst Jayson Molumby also appeared for his first minutes since New Year’s Day.
Corberan will now be looking forward to their upcoming friendly against Peterborough, hoping for an improved performance and result against another League One opposition.
Darren Ferguson‘s men similarly fell to defeat in their League One playoff semi-final against Oxford United, setting them up for a third consecutive campaign in the third division.
Having fallen to defeat in the playoffs in each of the last two campaigns, the Posh will be hoping they can go one step further in 2024-25 and secure their place back in the Championship.
Peterborough have already played three games for their pre-season preparations, losing 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon, drawing 0-0 with Wingate & Finchley and most recently destroying Spalding United 7-0.
Ferguson will be hoping his side can build upon that dominant victory with a strong run of form in their upcoming pre-season matches against West Brom, Boston United, Stamford, Colchester United and Notts County, setting the stage for a promising start to the new League One campaign.
West Bromwich Albion friendly form:
Peterborough United friendly form:
Team News
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The Baggies started each half with completely different teams in their opening pre-season defeat to Bolton, and Corberan is expected to do the same in this match.
Brandon Thomas-Asante was the only player to find the net for West Brom in that fixture, opening the scoring within 90 seconds, and the striker is likely to lead the line in the opening 45 minutes.
The Posh also made wholesale changes to their team at half time of their win over Spalding, with Ferguson likely to use that same method against West Brom on Saturday.
Young defender George Nevett was particularly impressive in their recent match, drawing early comparisons to former Posh star Ronnie Edwards, and Ferguson is likely to be closely monitoring his performance in this game.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Taylor, Townsend; Mfuamba, Mowatt; Wallace, Swift, Bostock; Thomas-Asante
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Steer; Dornelly, Mills, Fernandez, Nevett; Collins, De Havilland; Poku, Conn-Clarke, Wakeling; Jones
We say: West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Peterborough United
Although building up match fitness is the most important thing at this stage of pre-season, West Brom will be looking to improve on their defeat to Bolton last time out, and we expect them to do just that with a victory here.
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