Swansea v West Brom: Mel’s Baggies hell to reach new low

Swansea and West Brom meet at the Liberty Stadium both horribly out of form but it’s the struggling visitors who could see their torment continue.

Now firmly in a relegation battle, the 16/5 Baggies look desperate with the Swans 9/10 to take all three points.

The draw is priced at 12/5, an outcome not seen in the pair’s last eight meetings with Swansea winning four of the previous five Premier League encounters.

That past form should hold up here and with tough away matches at Everton and Arsenal up next for the Welsh side they’ll know it’s vital they take full advantage of West Brom’s current predicament.

Manager Pepe Mel is under intense pressure having failed to win any of his seven games in charge at The Hawthorns since taking over from sacked boss Steve Clarke in January.

Mel’s winless run extends to 15 domestic games if you factor in his last days at Real Betis and with West Brom winning just one of their last 18 matches there is a clear sense of the atmosphere of failure that’s descended upon the Black Country outfit.

Creditable home draws against Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea fail to paper over the cracks that have seen the hosts slip to just one place above Cardiff in the Premier League dropzone on goal difference.

Temporary Swans boss Garry Monk is also all too aware of his side’s precarious position just four points above the relegation places but home advantage should see the hosts over the line here.

On the other hand, West Brom have only won once in 13 league matches on the road, conceding 12 goals in their last five on their travels.

A Swansea win and over 2.5 goals to be scored in the game is therefore an appealing 2/1 with Ladbrokes alongside plenty of other interesting options.

Striker Wilfried Bony is likely to be the focal point of the Swans attack once again and the 6/5 on the Ivorian to score at any time could be the value bet here given his return of three goals in his previous four games.

Meanwhile, Bony to score and Swansea to be victorious is available at 11/5 but punters keen on West Brom salvaging something from this game should perhaps take note of the next statistic.

Four of the Baggies’ last nine Premier League goals have been scored in the final 15 minutes of the game with the 29/10 on the visitors netting another late strike worth getting stuck into.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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