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WEST BROMWICH ALBION v CARDIFF CITY
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 29th March 2014, 3:00pm
The Hawthorns

MATCH NOTES

The game will be the 54th league & cup meeting between the Baggies and Cardiff City. Albion currently lead the way in the victory stakes with 22 compared to the Bluebirds' 17.

The match will be the first time the two clubs have met at The Hawthorns in top-flight action since March 1962.

The Baggies' last game on March 29 took place in 2008 when they beat Colchester United 4-3 in a thrilling Championship clash at The Hawthorns.

Cardiff's last game on this date also came in the Championship in 2008 when they beat Southampton 1-0 at Ninian Park.

Albion have won just two out of their last 21 league and cup games.

City have lost their last eight Premier League away games.

Albion's last six games: Hull City (A) 0-2; Swansea City (A) 2-1; Manchester United (H) 0-3; Fulham (H) 1-1; Chelsea (H) 1-1; Crystal Palace (A) 1-3.

City's last six games: Liverpool (H) 3-6, Everton (A) 1-2; Fulham (H) 3-1; Tottenham Hotspur (A) 0-1; Hull City (H) 0-4; Wigan Athletic (H, FAC) 1-2.

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Baggies’ boss Pepe Mel is boosted by the return of Morgan Amalfitano and Diego Lugano following their recent knee injuries. Mel will also have Gareth McAuley available despite the defender limping off during last weekend’s defeat at Hull City.

Victor Anichebe faces a late fitness test on his hamstring problem but Billy Jones, Chris Brunt and Claudio Yacob all remain sidelined due to injury.

Jonas Olsson serves the second game of his two match suspension for reaching ten bookings for the season.

Squad from: Foster, Myhill, Reid, Ridgewell, McAuley, Dawson, Morrison, Sinclair, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Gera, Sessegnon, Anichebe, Vydra, Berahino, Bifouma, O'Neil, D Daniels, Amalfitano, Lugano.

Cardiff City

City winger Craig Noone could return after missing last week’s defeat at home to Liverpool.

Squad from: Marshall, Lewis, Turner, Theophile-Catherine, Fabio, John, Caulker, Campbell, Daehli, Medel, Eikrem, Mutch, Noone, Kim, Jones, Cala, Bellamy, Zaha, Taylor, Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Cowie, McNaughton.

QUOTES

Baggies' boss Pepe Mel:

“We’ve been looking at the errors from the Hull game. If you look at the video it shows within two seconds of kick-off we lost the ball. The way we’re approaching the game tomorrow is to be defensively strong. It’s been quite a long time since West Brom have kept a clean sheet. We’ve been conceding some very early goals and that means we have to put a lot of effort in.

“In a lot of the games at home we have gone in at half-time 1-0 down and that means we need to put in extra effort. That’s why we have highlighted the kick-off against Hull. You simply cannot lose the ball in the first moments of the game - it was a counter-attack and a cross, which nearly produced a goal. This is exactly why we are working hard to make sure this does not happen.

“We’re very capable of creating scoring opportunities and we’re convinced, if we don’t concede, we’ll be able to win the game. It’s obvious if we concede fewer goals we’ll have greater opportunity because we’re a team from midfield going forward that create opportunities and are successful in that.

“The fans have been behind us all the time. The other night we had a meal at the club and many people attended this. They’re all excited by the prospect of us going on and being successful. They want to know about the future and what the spirit is like within the camp. They also trust my work so for me it is a real responsibility. I particularly liked the curry but I’m more of a wine man when drinking with my meal. But the main thing is this meeting gave me an injection of enthusiasm. I’m indebted to them, they’ve given me an awful lot and I still haven’t delivered anything. My biggest concern is to ensure everyone goes home happy from the Cardiff game.”

www.wba.co.uk

City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:

”The next two games will be massive because they're against the two teams directly around us. It's going to be a vital ten days coming up.

“Saturday is a massive game for both teams. We go there to win the game but we can't be as open as we were against Liverpool, although we’ll of course want to push forward when we get the opportunity. We're concentrating on ourselves, making sure we get what we need.

“We can get the points and results we need, we all share that belief; we know what we have to do. Looking at the next two games and then to April it's a month that we have the chance to get some good points from.”

www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 8/11, Cardiff City Win: 18/5, Draw: 12/5.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Anichebe 6/1, Vydra 13/2, Thievy 13/2, Berahino 7/1, Sessegnon 7/1, Sinclair 11/1, Morrison 12/1, Dorrans 12/1, Gera 16/1, Amalfitano 20/1, Dawson 20/1, Mulumbu 20/1, McAuley 25/1, D Daniels 33/1, Reid 33/1.

Cardiff City: Campbell 7/1, Jones 15/2, Berget 9/1, Bellamy 9/1, Mutch 10/1, Zaha 11/1, Noone 12/1, Daehli 14/1, Whittingham 14/1, Cala 16/1, Bo-Kyung 20/1, Eikrem 20/1, Gunnarsson 25/1, Cowie 25/1, Caulker 25/1, Turner 33/1, John 33/1, Medel 33/1, Fabio 33/1.

www.williamhill.com

REFEREE

Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Oliver has refereed Albion three times previously this season - the 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in September, the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at The Hawthorns in November and the 1-1 draw at home to Everton in January.

The Northumberland official took charge of four Albion games last season - the 2-1 defeat at home to Liverpool in the Capital One Cup in September, the 2-1 win over Chelsea at The Hawthorns in November, the 2-1 defeat at Everton in January and the 5-5 draw with Manchester United in May.

Oliver has refereed one Cardiff City game this season - the 0-0 draw at Stoke City in December.

So far this season Oliver has issued 117 yellow cards and four red cards in the 31 games he has officiated.

A full run-down of Oliver's history refereeing the Baggies can be found here

TICKET INFORMATION

Seats remain on sale to season ticket holders, members and home supporters with a booking history. Tickets are priced £25 adults, £20 seniors, £15 under-21s/students and £10 under-17s.

The Smethwick End is sold out but availability remains in all other stands.

WEATHER FORECAST

Sunny, 16°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

Albion have met Cardiff City 53 times previously in competitive football. The Baggies currently have 22 wins compared to City's 17.

The first meeting of the two clubs came in a First Division game at The Hawthorns on October 22, 1921, the match finishing 2-2, Howard Gregory and Andrew Smith scoring the Albion goals.

Albion's biggest win against the Bluebirds came in November 1953 when they beat the Welsh side 6-1 at The Hawthorns, Ronnie Allen hit four of the hosts' goals. Albion recorded three big wins at City's former ground Ninian Park - a 6-3 victory in 1930 was followed in April 1948 by a 5-0 success. More recently, in July 1998, Albion travelled to Wales for a pre-season friendly and came home with another 5-0 victory, Italian trialists Marco Nappi and Mario Bortolazzi amongst the goals.

Cardiff's biggest win against Albion is 4-2, achieved twice, both times at The Hawthorns. The first came in 1923 in a league game at The Hawthorns when Len Davies scored all four City goals. In September 2007 Cardiff repeated the scoreline in a League Cup 3rd round tie.

The two clubs also met five times in wartime football, Albion winning twice, one of them a 6-3 victory in a Football League South game in August 1941.

Albion have lost just two of the last sixteen league meetings between the clubs.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

(Click on game to view)

Saturday 7 January 2012 - Albion 4-2 Cardiff City - FA Cup 3rd Round - The Hawthorns
Tuesday 20 February 2007 - Albion 1-0 Cardiff City - League Championship - The Hawthorns

LAST MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 4-2 Cardiff City
FA Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 7th January 2012, 3:00pm

Albion: Foster; Jones, McAuley (Tamas 75), Dawson, Shorey; Jara Reyes (Tchoyi 60), Thorne (Fortune 60), Dorrans, Morrison; Cox, Odemwingie. Subs not used: Fulop (gk), Mantom, Mattock, Wood.

Goalscorers: Odemwingie 7, Cox 33, 61 & 90

Booked: Shorey 33 (unsporting behaviour), Morrison 45+1 (foul)

Cardiff City: Heaton; Quinn, Keinan (Wharton 70), Blake, Naylor; McPhail, Gerrard, Kiss, Conway; Gestede (Mason 42), Earnshaw. Subs not used: Marshall (gk), Gyepes, Evans, Oshilaja, Ralls.

Goalscorers: Earnshaw 36, Mason 50

Booked: McPhail 9 (foul)

Attendance: 12,454

Referee: Lee Probert (Gloucestershire)

Simon Cox fired West Brom into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a hat-trick against an under-strength Cardiff side who now have bigger fish to fry. Goals from Peter Odemwingie and Cox opened up a two-goal lead just after the half-hour, only for a City side showing 10 changes to be level after 50 minutes courtesy of former Albion striker Robert Earnshaw and substitute Joe Mason. It was Republic of Ireland striker Cox, though, with only one goal this season and that back in August, who had the final say with a 25-yard strike on the hour and a tap in at the death.

It was undoubtedly clear Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay had Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final first leg clash at Crystal Palace higher on his agenda with seven players were rested. There appeared to be a hint of good fortune about the Baggies' opener after seven minutes, although the fact referee Lee Probert ignored strong penalty appeals shortly beforehand seemingly evened up the score. James Morrison produced a surging run to the deadball line, with his cut-back clearly hitting the hand of a sliding Dekel Keinan. The argument from Probert appeared to be it was one of those Keinan - this week recalled from a loan spell with Palace - was unable to avoid. Three minutes later, however, and Albion had their opener courtesy of Odemwingie's fifth goal of the season, and his third in his last five appearances. Goalkeeper Tom Heaton's booted clearance landed at the feet of Craig Dawson in the centre circle, the midfielder delivering a first-time punt back up the field for Odemwingie. Although he appeared to be a good few yards offside, there was no flag, allowing him to bury an 18-yard effort beyond Heaton. The visitors then proceeded to dominate possession, albeit without testing goalkeeper Ben Foster and putting the Baggies backline under any undue pressure. Indeed, when the second goal came the game was flatlining at that stage and in need of a spark, which duly arrived from Cox. Initially, it was a powerful run from Cox that resulted in a foul from Keinan 12 yards outside the area. From the free-kick, again there was a touch of good fortune for the home side as Probert ordered a re-take and booked captain Nicky Shorey for not playing to the whistle. Shorey's initial effort had gone out of play, but second time of asking he delivered a precision ball into the heart of the area for Cox to head home from eight yards his first goal since August 23. Three minutes later, though, it was an error by Shorey that allowed City a lifeline, with Filip Kiss on hand to take advantage and supply a simple ball into the six-yard box for Earnshaw to tap beyond Foster.

A superb Heaton save a minute later prevented Albion from restoring their two-goal cushion, which instead was eroded five minutes after the break. Earnshaw was the supplier. Turning on the pass, 42nd-minute substitute Mason beat Foster in off his right-hand post with a low angled strike. After Shorey hit the crossbar from 20 yards soon after, Cox doubled his tally in the 61st minute with a sizzler from 25 yards that gave Heaton no chance as it crossed the line after rattling off his right-hand upright. Morrison should then have sealed matters in the 78th minute, but in a congested penalty area and after doing the hard work in rounding Heaton, from two yards out he sliced his shot into the sidenetting. It was Cox who sealed matters right on 90 minutes, tapping home his hat-trick strike inside the six-yard box after being teed up by Odemwingie.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

None.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Leon Barnett, Kevin Bartlett, Gary Bell, Kevin Campbell, James Chambers, Stacy Coldicott, Stan Davies, Andy  Dibble, Rob Earnshaw,Elfed Evans, Wayne Fereday, Danny Gabbidon, Mark Grew, Phil Griffiths, Derek Hogg, Wayne Hughes, Junichi Inamoto, Godfrey Ingram, Jason Koumas, Ted Lane, Steve Lynex, Mick Martin, Trevor Morris, Johnny Nicholls, Peter Odemwingie, Eli Postin, Darren Purse, Mel Rees, Walter Robbins, Ricardo Scimeca, Ronnie Stockin, Kevin Summerfield, Bill Taylor, Andy Thompson, Garry Thompson, Gavin Ward, Joe Willetts and George Wood.

Former Albion player Ronnie Rees later worked behind the scenes at Ninian Park.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS CARDIFF CITY

 VENUE P W D  L F A
 Home 27 15 4 8 56 36
 Away 26 7 10 9 38 39
 Total 53 22 14 17 94 75

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST CARDIFF CITY

DATE COMPETITION H/A F-A GOALSCORERS    GATE
Sat 14 Dec 2013 Premier League A 0-1 Whittingham   26,632
Sat 07 Jan 2012 FA Cup H 4-2 Odemwingie, Cox 3 - Earnshaw, Mason   12,454
Tue 16 Feb 2010 Championship A 1-1 Zuiverloon - Whittingham (pen)   20,758
Tue 08 Dec 2009 Championship H 0-2 Burke, Whittingham   20,742
Tue 01 Apr 2008 Championship A 0-0   13,195
Sat 19 Jan 2008 Championship H 3-3 Bednar, Albrechtsen, Johnson (og) - Parry 2, Ledley   22,325
Tue 25 Sep 2007 League Cup H 2-4 Miller 2 (1 pen) - Fowler 2 (1 pen), Hasselbaink, Sinclair   14,085
Tue 20 Feb 2007 Championship H 1-0 Ellington   18,802
Tue 08 Aug 2006 Championship A 1-1 Gera - Scimeca   18,506
Sun 31 Jul 2005 Friendly A 2-0 Kanu, Gaardsoe     8,038

 

 
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