Tony Pulis may have played for the Cherries and managed them but his brand of football is far removed from what Eddie Howe has been doing at Dean Court. Pulis has many years of Premier League management behind him and that experience is invaluable to a team like WBA, but the gap to Bournemouth in the league is not so great now and Eddie Howe's men are eager to close the gap further now.
I remember at the preseason BBC 5 Live forum down at Dean Court that Tony Pulis was a guest and had a few words to say about how Bournemouth would lose games. He perhaps is not always wise to speak his mind and the AFCB fans won't forget that. Visiting the Hawthorns will be a major clash in styles and could well result in a stalemate with both sides knowing that a defeat would land them back in trouble.
WBA's home form has stabilised with recent performances against Spurs and Arsenal bringing them four points out of six, but before those games they did concede six goals against Leicester and Everton with a 1-0 win against Sunderland sandwiched in between them. Hard to beat has been the saying that goes hand in hand with Pulis' teams and yet this one has a bit of endeavour about it as well. You don't beat sides like Arsenal without having a goal threat and even when Berahino does not play, the power of Jose Rondon is something different for defenders to cope with. Rickie Lambert has not featured much for them but he also has a goal in him and the Cherries will not find the physical side of WBA's game easy to deal with.
It is in midfield though where AFCB will have to try and wrestle control of this game. West Brom are packed with combative midfielders like Darren Fletcher, Brunt, McClean and Gardener. Getting past this line is going to need AFCB's intricate triangles and wing play to be super slick and yet if they can get ahead and find the finish, AFCB's new improved defensive strength could prove more than a match for what WBA have going forward.
WBA Home Form
LWLWD
AFCB Away Form
LLLDW
Check out my latest Shoot article - Have the pundits got it wrong about Bournemouth?
Later Today you'll also be able to see my interview with Albion Til We Die on their site. I will have a Rival Lines with the WBA site tomorrow.
I remember at the preseason BBC 5 Live forum down at Dean Court that Tony Pulis was a guest and had a few words to say about how Bournemouth would lose games. He perhaps is not always wise to speak his mind and the AFCB fans won't forget that. Visiting the Hawthorns will be a major clash in styles and could well result in a stalemate with both sides knowing that a defeat would land them back in trouble.
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| AFCB v WBA in the 4th round of the Capital One Cup in 2014-15 |
It is in midfield though where AFCB will have to try and wrestle control of this game. West Brom are packed with combative midfielders like Darren Fletcher, Brunt, McClean and Gardener. Getting past this line is going to need AFCB's intricate triangles and wing play to be super slick and yet if they can get ahead and find the finish, AFCB's new improved defensive strength could prove more than a match for what WBA have going forward.
WBA Home Form
LWLWD
AFCB Away Form
LLLDW
Check out my latest Shoot article - Have the pundits got it wrong about Bournemouth?
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