WEST BROMWICH ALBION v FULHAM
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 22nd February 2014, 3pm
The Hawthorns

NOTES

Albion's last game on this date came in 2009, ironically against Fulham, Tony Mowbray's men suffering a 2-0 defeat at Craven Cottage.

The Baggies' last league win on February 22 came 84 years ago when they beat Bradford City 4-2 at The Hawthorns in a Second Division clash.

New Fulham boss Felix Magath is the first German to take charge of a Premier League game.

Albion have only won one of their last 17 matches in all competitions.

Fulham are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games against the Baggies.

Albion have had 16 different goalscorers this season - more than any other Premier League side.  

Albion's last six games: Chelsea (H) 1-1; Crystal Palace (A) 1-3; Liverpool (H) 1-1; Aston Villa (A) 3-4; Everton (H) 1-1; Southampton (A) 0-1

Fulham's last six games: Liverpool (H) 2-3; Manchester United (A) 2-2; Sheffield United (H, FAC) 0-1; Southampton (H) 0-3; Swansea City (A) 0-2; Sheffield United (A, FAC) 1-1

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Jonas Olsson, Billy Jones and Stephane Sessegnon could all return for the Baggies following recent injuries. However, the game will come too soon for Claudio Yacob (hamstring) and Nicolas Anelka (shin) who both sit the game out.

Squad: Foster, Myhill, Reid, Popov, Olsson, Ridgewell, Lugano, McAuley, Dawson, Jones, Morrison, Sinclair, Brunt, Dorrans, Amalfitano, Mulumbu, Gera, Sessegnon, Anichebe, Vydra, Berahino, Bifouma.

Fulham

Record signing Kostas Mitroglou faces a late fitness test due to his recent knee injury whilst goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (eye) and defender Fernando Amorebieta (knee) are also both doubts for Felix Magath’s first game in charge as Fulham boss.

Defender Matthew Briggs (hernia) remains out.

Squad: Stekelenburg, Stockdale, Heitinga, Riether, Riise, Burn, Sidwell, Richardson, Kacaniklic, Kvist, Tunnicliffe, Bent, Holtby, Cole, Parker, Duff, Kasami, Hangeland, Mitroglou, Amorebieta.

QUOTES

Albion head coach Pepe Mel:

"The next match is a big match for us. There is a new coach at Fulham so all the reports we have on them are no good because they have new concepts. But Saturday is 11 versus 11.

“I think Fulham play 4-2-3-1 but it’s possible Magath says he doesn’t like that. Maybe he will play five in defence, for example. That doesn't make things more difficult because, for me, what is more important is my team, my players, my way. My focus is only on keeping the ball and our tactics. The other things are important but not the most important. The most important thing is the way we play - the system, tactics and set-plays. This is more important for us.

"Fulham is the next game and it's very important because Fulham are in the relegation zone.  But all our focus is on the way to win."

www.wba.co.uk

Fulham boss Felix Magath:

“At the moment, 1-0 is the best result for us. It’s a special situation and we have to play to win, not to impress our fans. Sorry for that, but they have to be patient for a few months.

“In Germany I put a team together at Wolfsburg over three years and we scored the most goals. I had Grafite, he was the best scorer, I had [Edin] Dzeko, he was the second best scorer, and then I had [Zvjezdan] Misimović, he had the most assists ever in Germany. So, you see, I’m a fan of attacking not defending, but if you’re willing to attack then you have to be closed in the defence.

“So far, everybody has loved my training sessions, everybody; no-one died! The most important thing, for me, is to get the players together and to work as fast as we can. Therefore I called them to come [in to training] on Sunday because otherwise we would have had no time to get together and know each other.

“The players have to know me and try to understand what I want. I have to understand the players and I have to think about what I can ask of the players. I’m sure that the players want to stay in the league so I think they’re happy they have a change and I think they trust me that we can stay in the league.”

www.fulhamfc.com

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 8/11, Fulham Win: 13/5, Draw: 10/3.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Anichebe 5/1, Thievy 5/1, Berahino 11/2, Sessegnon 7/1, Vydra 7/1, Brunt 10/1, Sinclair 11/1, Morrison 12/1, Dorrans 12/1, Gera 14/1, Amalfitano 20/1, Dawson 20/1, Mulumbu 25/1, McAuley 25/1, Reid 33/1, Olsson 33/1, Jones 33/1, Lugano 33/1.

Fulham: Mitroglou 7/1, Bent 15/2, Dempsey 9/1, Tankovic 10/1, Rodallega 10/1, Sidwell 12/1, Kasami 12/1, Holtby 14/1, Kacaniklic 16/1, Cole 16/1, Dejagah 16/1, Karagounis 20/1, Duff 20/1, Riise 25/1, Kvist 25/1, Parker 25/1, Richardson 25/1, Heitinga 33/1, Burn 33/1, Tunnicliffe 33/1, Hangeland 33/1.

www.williamhill.com

REFEREE

Mike Dean (Wirral)

Dean has taken charge of two Albion games so far this season - the 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea City in September and the 3-3 draw at West Ham United in December.

The Wirral official took charge of four Albion games last season - the 1-1 draw at Tottenham in August, the 4-2 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in November, the 2-1 New Year's Day defeat at home to Fulham and the 0-0 draw at Stoke in March.

He has refereed two Fulham games during 2013/14 - the 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Craven Cottage in December and the 4-1 defeat at home to Sunderland last month.

Dean has issued 86 yellow and five red cards in the 25 games he has officiated so far this season.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets remain on general sale to home supporters for all stands except the Smethwick End which has now sold out.

WEATHER FORECAST

Light cloud, 8°C

FIXTURE HISTORY

LAST MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 1-2 Fulham
Barclays Premier League
Tuesday 1st January 2013, 12.45pm

Albion: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Tamas, Ridgewell; Mulumbu, Brunt (Thorne 84); Fortune (Odemwingie 65), Morrison, Gera (Long 65); Lukaku. Subs not used: Myhill (gk), Jara Reyes, Dawson, Rosenberg.

Goalscorer: Lukaku 49

Fulham: Stockdale; Riether, Hangeland, Hughes, Briggs; Dejagah, Karagounis (Rodallega 76), Sidwell, Kacaniklic; Ruiz; Berbatov. Subs not used: Somogyi (gk), Senderos, Baird, Kasami, Richardson, Frei.

Goalscorers: Berbatov 39, Kacaniklic 58

Attendance: 25,436

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Fulham eased their relegation worries as Alexander Kacaniklic's second-half goal earned them a shock win at high-flying West Brom in the Barclays Premier League. The Cottagers had slid towards the bottom three after winning only one of their previous 12 games but were well worth their second away success of the campaign. Dimitar Berbatov's seventh goal of the season gave the Cottagers a half-time lead, and although Romelu Lukaku levelled after the break, Kacaniklic restored the visitors' advantage. It enabled Fulham to complete their first ever Premier League win at the Hawthorns at the seventh attempt and a double after the 3-0 win at Craven Cottage in September. Berbatov had netted twice in that game and was again an inspirational figure with his vision and control, while Kacaniklic was a handful down the flanks. Albion struggled to produce the form which had taken them into the top half of the table, despite the efforts of on loan Chelsea striker Lukaku and fit again midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu.

Fulham knocked the ball about in confident fashion in the early stages with Kacaniklic prominent. Steve Sidwell made a run towards the Baggies box unopposed but his shot flew well wide while three corners in quick succession were comfortably dealt with by the home defence. Albion struggled to find any initial momentum and it was 20 minutes before they threatened, with Gareth McAuley heading past the post from a Chris Brunt free-kick. Fulham keeper David Stockdale then raced off his line to save at the feet of Lukaku after he had exchanged passes with Zoltan Gera. West Brom finally woke from their slumbers and Lukaku bore down on goal after shaking off the challenge of Sascha Riether, but Sidwell made good ground to put in a crucial tackle. Gabriel Tamas glanced a header wide from a Brunt corner before Berbatov wasted a golden opportunity. A mistake by Brunt left the former Manchester United player with a clear run towards Ben Foster but he shot over the bar. But Berbatov made amends after 39 minutes by putting Fulham ahead. Ashkan Dejagah turned inside Liam Ridgewell before squaring the ball across the box to Berbatov, whose first time shot flew past Foster. Mulumbu headed wide from a Ridgewell centre but Albion left the pitch at half-time to the sound of boos after a below-par performance.

The atmosphere quickly changed with Lukaku needing only three minutes of the second period to bring West Brom on level terms. Marc-Antoine Fortune spread the ball out wide to Billy Jones, who skipped past Sidwell before centring for Lukaku to make no mistake from close range. The home side were revitalised and Lukaku held off Aaron Hughes before crashing a rising shot against the outside of a post. Stockdale denied Lukaku and Gera in quick succession and the rebound broke to Brunt, whose shot was headed off the line by Aaron Hughes. But after 57 minutes Fulham regained the lead against the run of play through Kacaniklic's third goal of the season. Bryan Ruiz played a lofted ball forward to Kacaniklic on the edge of the box and he checked back inside before firing home. Clarke made a double change after 65 minutes with Gera and Fortune making way for Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie. Lukaku continued to pose a threat and was only just off target with his header from Long's centre. But Fulham were looking full of confidence and Dejagah was only just off target with a dipping drive.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Hungarian midfielder Zoltan Gera originally moved to The Hawthorns in July 2004, joining in a £1.5million deal from Ferencvaros. The midfielder spent four years at The Hawthorns, becoming a huge fan favourite in the process. In the summer of 2008, an out of contract Gera joined Fulham. He would stay at Craven Cottage for three years, again becoming a fan favourite, before returning to Albion in August 2011. Gera has now made over 150 appearances for the Baggies, scoring 26 goals, and has become the club's most capped international player of all time.

Kieran Richardson was a huge influence on Albion's 'Great Escape' of 2004/05. The midfielder moved to The Hawthorns on loan from Manchester United in January of that season and proceeded to score three goals in 12 games, including one against Portsmouth on the final day of the season. After a five year spell at Sunderland, Richardson moved to Craven Cottage in August 2012.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Giles Barnes, Perry Digweed, Jonathan Greening, Mark Grew, Junichi Inamoto, Diomansy Kamara, Zat Knight, Tony Lange, Stacey North, Paul Peschisolido, Martin Pike, Bobby Robson, Arthur Rowley, Nicky Shorey, Kevin Steggles, Brian Talbot and Pascal Zuberbuhler.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS FULHAM

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST FULHAM