West Brom vs. Swansea Predictions: Grant to get the Baggies firing again

Monday night sees the conclusion of the Championship fixtures for the weekend and we've got a cracking match between West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City at The Hawthorns with an 8pm ko. We've asked our EFL guy @OddsTerrier to look this one over and he's picked out a couple of interesting bets for you. 

What exactly is happening at West Brom? They enter this game on the back of an atrocious run of form that's seen them drop from top of the league down to 13th and looking increasingly unlikely to make the playoff race. They are winless in six games and have only picked up one point from 18. New boss Steve Bruce at least saw his team score for the first time since his appointment last week, but they still capitulated to a 2-1 defeat versus playoff contenders Middlesbrough. They have to start winning and winning quick.

They come up against a Swansea side just four places below them in the table and in very inconsistent form. Great wins versus the likes of Blackburn and Bristol City have been followed by heavy losses to Stoke and Sheffield United. The Swans are a easy side on the eye, with comfortably the highest possession stats in the league, but it's not transmitting to results. They come into this game fully rested, after their midweek game vs Bournemouth was postponed and will be eyeing up an Albion side under severe pressure as a game they can win.

Team news:

Steve Bruce is still without Jake Livermore who remains suspended. Daryl Dike and Kean Bryan are injured and unavailable for selection. 

Russell Martin will surely make changes to his defence after they conceded four last time out. Hannes Wolf and Kyle Naughton are both injured but otherwise he has a full squad to pick from. 

My first selection is West Brom to turn around their season and notch a first win under new boss Steve Bruce. Bruce is already under pressure from the fans after a disastrous run of games and needs to get a win on the board to get the supporters off his back. Albion showed early in the season that they can be a good side. They opened their Championship campaign with ten games unbeaten and many thought (myself included) that them and Fulham were a sure thing for a quick return to the Premier League. They lost their way in mid season which ultimately saw the end of Valérien Ismaël's tenure and they've struggled to re-find their mojo since. 

However, this isn't a great Swans side that they are up against. Sure they look pretty and definitely know how to pass the ball, but can be toothless at times. The Baggies possess the fire power of Karlan Grant, Callum Robinson and Andy Carrroll. Carroll is yet to score for West Brom but looks fit, has played five straight 90 minute matches and is averaging 2.6 shots and 1.4 shots on target per game so is sure to break his duck soon. 

I'm gonna stick my neck on the block and predict West Brom to scrape over the line at home in front of a raucous Hawthorns crowd. 

My second selection is Karlan Grant to score the first goal. The 24-year-old ex-Huddersfield player is the Baggies top scorer with 10, yet is scoreless in his last six games. This isn't down to a lack of ambition as he's leading the team in shots (76) and shots on target (30). Grant plays best on the left and is at his pomp when cutting in on to his right and letting fly. The addition of Carroll up front should in theory lead to better opportunities for Grant and Robinson, due to knockdowns and hold up play. 

William Hill have boosted this price from 4/1 out to 5/1 which is market leading and I'm happy to have a small stake on this as my second bet. 

If you like the sound of either of these selections then good luck, and remember to gamble responsibly.