Who would have thought we’d be talking about an early top-of-the-table clash just seven games into the Championship season? The high-flying Baggies welcome QPR to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon, with both sides looking to continue their impressive starts to the campaign in an early kick-off.
There’s barely been time to come down from the brilliant night at Pride Park, but it’s already time for another match preview as the Baggies prepare for their seventh league game of the Championship season. Saturday brings the second and final fixture of this two-game week, with Albion looking to build on Wednesday night’s battling victory at Derby and ensure we head into a slightly quieter period with our excellent early-season momentum intact. After this one, we’ll have an eight-day break before making the short trip to Molineux to face the Dingles, followed by a three-week international break.
It’s an early kick-off at The Hawthorns as QPR make the trip to the West Midlands in what, perhaps unexpectedly at this stage of the campaign, has the feel of an early top-of-the-table encounter. The visitors have enjoyed an encouraging start to the season and have shown they can be a difficult side to come up against. However, they arrive at The Hawthorns without a win in their previous two matches, having suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough before being held to a goalless draw away at Charlton in midweek. They’ll therefore be determined to rediscover their winning touch, while Albion will be hoping to take advantage and strengthen our position towards the top of the table.
For the Baggies, the big question will be how much Wednesday night’s efforts have taken out of the players. Playing for around two-thirds of the game with ten men at Pride Park required a huge amount of energy, discipline and concentration, and there isn’t much recovery time before Saturday’s early start. There’s also the question of who fills the right-back position following Brayann Pereira’s red card on his debut. Nevertheless, returning to The Hawthorns as Championship leaders should give everyone another lift, and another three points would round off an excellent week before attention turns towards a very different challenge at Molineux
Player To Watch – QPR
My player to watch for QPR is goalkeeper Pierce Charles. The 21-year-old Northern Ireland international is spending the season on loan at Rangers after joining Manchester City from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, and he’s certainly a highly-rated young keeper. He’s started every Championship game for QPR so far and comes into the trip to The Hawthorns having kept a clean sheet in their 0-0 draw at Charlton on Wednesday night.
From a Baggies point of view, this could be one of those games where we need to make our chances count. Charles has already shown his shot-stopping ability this season, including making five saves despite QPR’s 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough last weekend. After the amount of energy we used playing with ten men at Derby, I’m not expecting everything to be free-flowing on Saturday, so if chances are at a premium, we can’t afford to let Charles grow into the game and frustrate us. An early goal would certainly settle a few nerves around The Hawthorns!
He may only be 21, but Charles already has Championship and international experience under his belt, and Manchester City clearly see plenty of potential in him after handing him a five-year contract this summer. Hopefully, though, he has a much busier afternoon than he did at Charlton in midweek — and the Baggies can find a way past him to keep our excellent start to the season going.
Player To Watch – West Brom
Who else could it be? Jimmy-Jay Morgan has been the difference-maker for the Baggies so far this season and, with five goals and three assists in all competitions already, you have to wonder where Albion would be without him. He’s only 20 years old, but he’s quickly becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet. Whether it’s scoring important goals, creating chances or simply running himself into the ground for the shirt, Morgan has given us something different in that attack and has played a massive part in why we’re sitting top of the Championship going into this one.
Wednesday night at Derby summed him up perfectly. Morgan produced the low cross for Aune Heggebø to put us 1-0 ahead, but it was what he did after Brayann Pereira’s red card that impressed me just as much. With Albion down to ten men for more than an hour, Morgan seemed to be everywhere. One minute he was trying to give us an outlet going forward, the next he was tracking all the way back and helping the defence protect that precious lead. For a young attacking player to show that sort of work rate and maturity when the team desperately needed it says a lot about him.
He’s already scored big goals against Norwich, Middlesbrough and Watford in the league, and now he’s added another assist at Pride Park. QPR will know all about the threat he carries, but stopping him is another matter. Morgan has become such an important part of this Albion side in such a short space of time, and if he can produce another big performance at The Hawthorns on Saturday, hopefully he can once again be the man who makes the difference. Five goals, three assists and top of the Championship — what a start he’s made in B71!
Line Up V QPR
I’d make a few changes for this one, although after the defensive effort at Derby I wouldn’t want to disrupt things too much. With Brayann Pereira suspended and Nolan Galves picking up an injury, right-back is obviously the big problem. I’d move Callum Styles across to right-back and bring Conor Townsend in at left-back, while keeping Nat Phillips and George Campbell together in the middle. That partnership was outstanding when we went down to ten men at Pride Park, so for me there’s absolutely no reason to break it up. Styles has the versatility to do a job on the right, while Townsend gives us the natural balance on the opposite side. It also looks one of the most sensible solutions available to Morrison given Pereira and Galves are unavailable.
In midfield, I’d stick with Jayson Molumby and Ousmane Diakité in the centre after the shifts they put in on Wednesday night, with Isaac Price keeping his place out wide. The one change I’d make is giving Kareem Tunde an opportunity in place of Harry Whitwell. Whitwell has done really well and there’s no criticism of him whatsoever, but he’s still a young player finding his feet at this level and, after another tough night at Derby, this feels like an opportunity to freshen things up. Tunde has been waiting patiently for his chance, and at home against QPR I’d like to see what he can offer from the start. He was on the bench at Derby without getting on, so he should also have fresh legs.
Up front, it has to be Aune Heggebø and Jimmy-Jay Morgan again. Heggebø got the all-important winner at Derby and gives us that physical presence through the middle, while Morgan is simply undroppable at the moment. Those two combined for Wednesday’s goal and I want to see that partnership given the chance to develop. Morgan alongside Heggebø gives us pace, movement and strength, and hopefully, with eleven men on the pitch for the full 90 this time, we can see a lot more of them together in an attacking sense!
Prediction V QPR
Now for a prediction last game I predicted we win at Derby for the first time since 2003 and we did with a 1-0 win but this time I predicted a 2-1 win so not right as of last time. Lets see my home form of predictions have been correct.
I say the opening 15 minutes would be end to end and there be nothing into it as the scores would remain the same I sense a goal in the 35th minute mark where Isaac Price would find Jimmy-Jay Morgan to then strike it to put the Baggies 1-0 up front 10 minutes before the break, QPR would find something in the end of the first half but Max O’Leary would save it.
Second half, we see a penalty and it’s QPR as Rumarn Burrell would be taken down by Phillips and then Burrell take the spot kick to put his side back level and meaning the Baggies have work to do to try and get back into the lead, in the 63rd minute QPR would hit the crossbar but it would be to the death and Isaac Price would have a free kick in the 91th minute and he strikes to put the Baggies ahead in added time, then his side would hold on to their third concessive win for the first time since 2024-25 campaign keeping the side top of the Championship.
Prediction: West Brom 2-1 QPR
Goalscorers for West Brom: Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Isaac Price
Goalscorer for QPR: Rumarn Burrell (P)
A 2-1 win at The Hawthorns I’m going for and we see a end to end encounter where both sides are in great form but there be one winner and it’s us again and it would be late into the game where we see Isaac Price getting a winner from a free kick on the 91st minute that would keep us top before we play the Dingles next Sunday.