There’s little room left for error at The Hawthorns on Tuesday evening as West Brom welcome Charlton Athletic in a fixture that already feels pivotal in the Baggies’ Championship campaign.
Pressure is mounting around The Hawthorns, this experiment has been a dark cloud hovering over recent months first with Ryan Mason and now Eric Ramsay, who has replaced the former Spurs interim manager in January and is winless in his seven league games in charge plus the FA Cup clash with Norwich. The optimism has greeted his appointment that has quickly turned into frustration and humiliation, and our 2-0 defeat to league leaders Coventry City, patience in the fanbase is running out.
Our attention quickly turns to Charlton Athletic who are also looking to avoid the drop but are 6 points ahead of us in the league table and have had a recent result at Southampton with a 1-1 draw at St-Mary’s Stadium. They would be using that result to help grind out something at The Hawthorns with the Baggies out of form and Eric Ramsay being a dead man walking, I expect it be a difficult evening here.
Player to Watch — Charlton Athletic
I’ve always rated Lyndon Dykes — even during his time at Queens Park Rangers, he was someone you feared whenever we came up against them. He always seemed capable of producing something out of nothing.
His spell at Birmingham City didn’t quite catch fire, but he looks revitalised at Charlton Athletic and is quickly becoming a key figure in their fight for survival.
Albion supporters will remember all too well his impact on our play-off push in 2022–23, when he capitalised on a Josh Griffiths error to snatch an equaliser for QPR — a moment that proved costly in the bigger picture.
He has a habit of stepping up against us, and with our defence low on confidence, he’s exactly the type of striker who could punish any lapse in concentration. The back line will need to keep a close eye on him — it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him on the scoresheet on Tuesday night.
Player to Watch — West Brom
The American defender George Campbell has brought real presence to Albion’s back line — aggressive in the tackle, dominant in the air, and not afraid to step into midfield when needed. In a game where nerves could easily creep in, Campbell’s physicality and composure will be vital against a battling Charlton Athletic side.
There’s also a growing connection between Campbell and the supporters. The chant — “He’s from America, he’ll… take the ball off you” — has quickly become a favourite in the stands, reflecting the way he throws himself into duels and relishes the battle. He plays with that front-foot mentality fans love to see.
With Albion under pressure and needing a response, Campbell setting the tone early — winning headers, crunching tackles, organising the line — could lift both the crowd and his teammates. And with his threat from set pieces, don’t rule him out at the other end either.
If West Brom are to steady the ship, it could well start with their American enforcer at the heart of defence.
My Line Up V Charlton Athletic
There be changes in the starting 11, I bring back George Campbell into right-back and the two centre backs I have Bielik and Phillips into the team and Callum Styles in left-back.
In Midfield I have Diakite and Molumby, then Mikey Johnston should have a start having the most assists this season and Ollie Bostock have a start over Jed Wallace. I have a front two of Aune Heggebo and Daryl Dike.
Prediction V Charlton Athletic
Now it’s time to make a prediction, last time out I said we come away with a 4-3 win over Coventry City but this time I am not confident I feel it be another long evening at The Hawthorns.
In the first 15 minutes into the game, Charlton Athletic would have a corner conceded from George Campbell, There corner would convert and lead to Conor Coady the ex Wolves Captain to give us more misery as he would get the opening goal for Charlton.
It would turn sour around The Hawthorns following a Coady goal for Charlton, in the 36th minute the Baggies would nearly get something with a Mikey Johnston’s cross that leads for Daryl Dike to make a wonderful header but would just go over the bar.
Charlton would end the half with the lead and might be a big 45 minutes for Eric Ramsay to turn it around. In the second half I feel he wouldn’t have enough to turn it around as around the 52nd minute the visitors would double their advantage with Lyndon Dykes beating O’Leary to then put the scoreline 2-0 to Charlton.
Then 10 minutes later, the Baggies would have a free-kick with Isaac Price scoring from range to try and put us back into the game. It would be end to end through the game but there wouldn’t be much to it as I am going for a defeat for us and could time be calling for Eric Ramsay?
Prediction: West Brom 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Goalscorers for West Brom: Isaac Price
Goalscorers for Charlton Athletic: Conor Coady, Lyndon Dykes
I’m going for a defeat here, I cannot see us turning over this poor run we’ve been suffering and I say we would be in a real relegation battle but I think we would get out of it but I think we be around the 2-3 teams battling towards the 22nd position in the league. Confidence is low and it won’t change soon.