West Brom vs Crystal Palace Live Match Stream

Our live stream ahead of  Sundays Premier League match, West Brom vs Crystal Palace is now up, kicking off at 12.00pm

You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first, we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…

West Brom claimed their first Premier League win of the season last week as Conor Gallagher’s fine strike secured a 1-0 against bottom-placed Sheffield United.

Slaven Bilic described the victory as a huge psychological boost for his players given the weight of pressure on their shoulders ahead of the game.

Albion had lost six and drawn three of their opening nine matches since returning to the Premier League before Conor Gallagher’s strike got them off the mark with a first win.

Roy Hodgson will have had nine days to reflect on his side’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle, with Callum Wilson and Joelinton scoring in the final two minutes at Selhurst Park.

As Palace and Newcastle looked destined for a stalemate at Selhurst Park, Joelinton’s clever flick released Wilson through on goal, and the striker marked his return from his hamstring injury with a composed finish through the legs of Vicente Guaita to give the Magpies the lead two minutes from time.

The Eagles are in need of points having lost three of their last four matches without finding the net, the exception in that run being a 4-1 victory at home to Leeds United.

Head to head, Palace are unbeaten in their last four games with Albion, winning three and keeping a clean sheet each time, but they have won only once in six top-flight visits to The Hawthorns.

PRESS CONFERENCE:

Slaven Bilic

When asked about Zaha and Palace’s talented attacking line...

That’s their paradox; They don’t want the ball, so you think they must be solid – but no, their forte is front players.

“There is so much talent in there. Skill, pace, ideas, freshness, combinations. They’re brilliant. Not only Wilfried, but especially him.

“The statistic that in the last 18 games he didn’t play they lost 15 is unbelievable.

“He’s a big influence on them. He’s a guy who can decide a game from nothing. Others benefit from him. We’ll see if he’ll play, I know he’s available. Definitely they’re a different team with him.

“That goes for almost every team who has a star player.”

When asked if Palace were in a relegation battle…

“Not at the moment. I would like a few other clubs to join our group of four, or for us to leave that group!

“They’ve lost three games, but even if you’re at the top of the table and you have a big gap, it’s not good. Nobody likes to lose three games. Every defeat affects something, even one in training.

“Still they’re not there, they’re comfortable but that can change. I know that they’ll be on their toes, they can’t afford to have a spell of bad results and bad performances.

“Unfortunately I know they’ll be very aware on Sunday.”

Roy Hodgson

On Zaha returning…

Yes, he was very disappointed to miss those games. He’s been with us since his negative test, he’s fit and ready to play.

Sense of frustration among the team?

Yes, I think so. Both games we could have got something from, but our failure to score meant two defeats, and after the performance against Leeds that was frustrating and saddening. Now a good chance to put that right.

Soft spot for West Brom still?

Yes, great deal of affection for the club. I have for all the clubs I’ve worked for.

West Brom fans are very good to me. I found myself taking charge of a very responsive group of players, I was fortunate with that and luckily we got some results.

If you want to be held with any sort of regard, you have to get points on the board and we managed to do that.

Lack of fans tomorrow – can’t wait for them?

Absolutely. It’s good we’ve kicked off with a relatively small amount of fans (Arsenal last night). It’s a good step in the right direction.

Roll on the day when even more can come.

Vaccine approval – you getting it?

I wasn’t really thinking about it purely through selfish reasons. I’ve been COVID free without it, touch wood.

I must say the real impact the news had on me was how good it’s going to be for the many people who are in desperate need of it in care homes and the NHS on the front line, but also the economy and environment we were living in pre-March 2020.

Suddenly the pandemic hit and our life has been conditioned by what the virus means.

The vaccine means we can get back to that, and I don’t think many people will be regretting that.

How has Luka been looking in training?

Good. Another one, unfortunately, who went away and contracted it, but it’s of course been the red card at Wolves that cost us his services since then.

He’s knocking at the door now and I’m fortunate to have a lot of players available.

How do you assess your start?

Good up until the last two games.

We’re still suffering from those two defeats, but we’re more than aware that a couple of games can change all that and we’re anxious to get points on the board, but not panicked.

Important three points?

Of course, it’s important to get points against teams in the bottom half, perhaps more than when you’re against teams you’re not expected to beat.

The pressure is off against those teams, and on when you’re up against teams you’re “supposed” to beat.

It’s a question I’ll be asked many times in the next 28 games, I’m sure.

Focusing on how your side can create more this week?

There seems to be a myth that we only work on something when the previous game shows you haven’t done well in that area.

In my three years, we’ve worked consistently on both attacking and defensive areas.

It’s not a case of ‘we didn’t score, we need to work more on attacking this week’.

I hope we will continue to play good football and create good chances and take them.

What are you expecting after West Brom’s win?

The same as any game: a fully motivated, fully fit, strong opponent.

Every team in this league has those qualities.

I’m expecting confidence because they played well and got a victory, it’s always nice to be working off that.

It’s an away game – no fans, but it’s still away. They know what the Hawthorns is like and we don’t.

I’m expecting a good performance from them, no letting up in their desire to win or run a lot to get that win and we must be prepared for it.

Clubs who won’t have fans may be unfair – your opinion?

I’m afraid that’s a very political question. I prefer to limit myself to football and football matters – it’s not our decision, it’s a government decision, and there are lots of opinions about the Tier system but I’m not prepared to make comments on that. I don’t wish to be involved in any political debates.

If there were fans there, good for West Brom. There aren’t, bad luck for West Brom.

What have you missed most about fans?

It does affect the atmosphere, of course.

But it’s part and parcel of the fact that we’re programmed as professionals to perform. We’re entertainers. If singers are in their bathrooms or on an empty stage, they’d feel the same.

Our joy, if you like, at being good at what we do is partly because we’re doing that for fans.

It’s no doubt that they’ve been sorely missed. It’s been necessary for the government to take control, but all of us are hoping that the day will come soon that we can get them all back.

Full Selhurst Park next year with a vaccine

A vaccine is an absolute must. I find it hard to understand some people contesting it. We owe a great debt to the people going back to smallpox and such, for creating vaccines.

The sooner it can be rolled out, the better as far as I’m concerned.

Hopefully we can get people vaccinated and back to what we’ve been missing since March

Every team seems reliant on one goalscorer – how can clubs overcome that?

You can’t rely on one man to see you through.

Each team probably has a star striker who gets a bigger portion than the others, but all of us work to ensure that goal chances are created for all, not just for one.

If you do just boil it down to one player in the team who can score, you become a pretty ineffective team, it’s not that difficult to just stop one man.

Enjoy going back to old clubs?

Yes, obviously you do. Both West Brom and Fulham were great to me, gave me great support.

I found excellent people there on and off the pitch, they made my life very pleasant, I was pleased to see both sides come up into the Premier League.

I just hope they get points off other teams and not me.

Newcastle COVID cases – any concern?

There was indeed. Our doctor and team manager did exceptionally well. It was difficult to operate in a normal way before a test.

They made sure people came in separate cars, didn’t have the normal breakfast.

It was turn up, train and straight back in the car. No players in indoor areas.

Luckily we had our test that day and they all proved negative, so we got back to normal.

But we certainly took all the precautions to make sure we were within government and Premier League guidelines.

FORM:

West Bromwich Albion Premier League form: DDLLLW

Crystal Palace Premier League form: DWLWLL

LINEUPS:

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ajayi, Ivanovic, Bartley; Furlong, Gallagher, Sawyers, Gibbs; Pereira; Robinson, Grant

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Clyne, Kouyate, Cahill, Van Aanholt; Townsend, Riedewald, McArthur, Eze; Ayew, Batshuayi

THATSAGOAL TIP:

Both Teams to Score – No – 17/20 with FanTeam

Only two sides (the two directly below them in the table) have scored fewer goals than West Brom’s seven so far this season. Each of their last four games have seen just one side score as goals have been kept to a minimum. Crystal Palace have perhaps scored more than expected but the same is true for three of their last four Premier League fixtures.

A tight game with a single goal separating the sides wouldn’t be a surprise as West Brom look to grind out at least a point.

Time to take a look at our West Brom vs Crystal Palace live match stream as it happens…