The Baggies head into Saturday’s clash with Ipswich Town at The Hawthorns unbeaten in nine, a run that has steadied the ship and all but secured their Championship status. With safety in the bag, the Baggies now have the chance to play spoiler against an Ipswich side chasing automatic promotion on the penultimate weekend.
Safety has been achieved but it all depends on the points deduction that could be announced at the end of this month. The last 9 games has been excellent for the Baggies and the last two wins have been remarkable, it has been a turnaround since the days of Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay that seen us in the relegation places just 6 weeks ago to now been mathematically safe with 2 games left to play.
Ipswich are up next who are looking to get back into the Premier League, if they beat us here it’s all in their hands but our job is to deny them promotion and it’s out of their hands come the final day.
Player To Watch – Ipswich Town
There’s an added subplot on Saturday with Darnell Furlong set to face his former club, and he arrives full of confidence after finding the net against Charlton in midweek. That goal will only sharpen his belief heading into The Hawthorns, where he’ll be determined to build on that momentum and get one over West Bromwich Albion.
He’s not alone in that narrative either—Alex Palmer, Conor Townsend and Cédric Kipré all make a return, effectively recreating a large part of Albion’s back four from two seasons ago. With that familiarity comes added intrigue, and you can be sure Albion’s current players will be fully aware of the threat—looking for ways to nullify those former teammates when they line up on Saturday lunchtime.
Player To Watch – West Brom
One to keep a close eye on this weekend is Danny Imray, who comes into the Ipswich clash off the back of a standout performance against Watford—grabbing a goal and an assist to help secure Albion’s Championship safety.
The on-loan left-back has been a revelation under James Morrison, showing composure, attacking intent and maturity beyond his experience. With Darnell Furlong now on the opposing side, there’s an added spotlight on Imray, and he looks more than capable of stepping into that role long-term.
If Albion can secure him on a free in the summer, it could prove to be smart business—especially given how seamlessly he’s slotted into the side and made an impact in crucial moments.
Line Up V Ipswich Town
Line up over Ipswich, I play the same 11 that we played on Tuesday night, with the same back four, midfield and forwards. I wouldn’t change 1 player in the line up in case they get injured and expect this to be the strongest line up we’ve got and maybe put Grant, Bany and Bostock on in the second half.
Prediction V Ipswich Town
Last time out I predicted a 2-0 win over Watford however we gone one better with a memorable 3-0 win at The Hawthorns on Tuesday evening with goals from Isaac Price, Daryl Dike and Danny Imray. Now we face Ipswich on Saturday lunchtime looking to dent their automatic promotion hopes with our 9 game unbeaten run can we use this to see of Ipswich Town.
The opening stages would see us get an opportunity with Isaac Price laying off for Daryl Dike to get the opener but would see his chance saved by Christian Walton. Then around the 33rd minute the visitors get into the scoresheet where Kasey McAteer would strike from a few yards out to give Ipswich the lead.
It won’t last long as Danny Imray would make another attempt that would be saved and for Josh Maja to smash in the rebound to put the scores level at the break.
In the second half it would start quiet till the 72nd minute when Ollie Bostock would make an appearance then in the next 5 minutes he would set one up for Daryl Dike to put the Baggies into the lead and give our fans more hopes where this could be the third win in a week.
Around added time, the lead could be sealed but the referee would give Ipswich a penalty where George Campbell would take Jack Clarke down and the referee would be ruthless and give him a straight red where this could leave us furious, Philogene-Bidace would take the ball that would leave our players protesting and Morrison being mad.
Ipswich would then take the penalty in the dying minutes that would be saved by Max O’Leary that would rock The Hawthorns into celebration mode and then a few minutes later the game would end 2-1 to the Baggies in our last home game of the season and hopefully be our 3rd straight win and make this 10 games unbeaten.
Prediction: West Brom 2-1 Ipswich Town
Goalscorers for West Brom: Josh Maja, Daryl Dike
Goalscorers for Ipswich Town: Kasey McAteer
I’d back West Bromwich Albion for a 2-1 win over promotion-chasing Ipswich Town, with the visitors arriving at The Hawthorns carrying all the pressure. With automatic promotion within reach and a game in hand, Ipswich know a win could put the race firmly in their hands—but that expectation can weigh heavy, especially in a tight, hostile atmosphere. Albion, playing with confidence after their recent run, could take advantage and edge it. You can just see the late drama too: nerves creeping in for Ipswich, a penalty awarded that sees Albion reduced to 10 men—but from there, a huge save to deny the spot-kick and seal all three points, throwing the promotion battle right down to the final day.