Wolves West Brom Odds : Baggies look to put pressure on McCarthy in relegation dogfight
Local rivals Wolves and West Brom go head to head on Sunday afternoon with both teams in desperate need of the points in their battle for survival.
Wolves in particular need to put a positive run together.
At the moment they are 17th in the league, just a point above the relegation zone.
West Brom meanwhile are slightly more comfortable – they are six points clear of relegation – although they are still looking over their shoulders.
This is Wolves’ chance to drag West Brom into further trouble though. Mick McCarthy’s men will be in good spirits after their victory at Queens Park Rangers last time out too. This ended a run of nine Premier League games without a win and they will want to build on this now.
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They will also hope that the atmosphere inside Molinuex is a positive one. There were calls for McCarthy to leave his post in the recent home defeat to Liverpool and if Wolves are to get something on Sunday, this cannot be the case.
As for West Brom, well they might be pleased that this game is away from home. They have been much more comfortable on the road this year, with 18 away points compared to eight points on home soil.
They will be fully aware that they need to pick up a positive result this weekend, otherwise there will be genuine concern that they are in the middle of a relegation battle. There is nothing like a defeat to your local rivals to cause panic after all.
Looking at the team news for the 146th league Black Country derby, Wolves will be without the suspended Karl Henry, while Michael Kightly is also set to miss out with a back problem.
They were also dealt a massive blow during the week when Emmanuel Frimpong – on-loan from Arsenal – returned to his parent club after cruciate ligament damage.
For West Brom, Keith Andrews and Liam Ridgewell could make their debuts, while leading scorer Shane Long faces a late fitness test.
Overall, this will not be a game for the faint hearted. It will be competitive from the word go with plenty at stake for both teams.
