Premier League: West Brom v Tottenham match preview

A look ahead to this weekend's fixture at The Hawthorns

Emmanuel Adebayor of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his second goal against Sunderland by saluting manager Tim Sherwood this week (GETTY IMAGES)

West Brom have been sucked back into the relegation zone, but last week’s win at Norwich lifted them above the Canaries on goal difference, and five points clear of the bottom three.

Pepe Mel knows that another win would see his team to the brink of safety.

Tottenham, on the other hand, still harbour faint hopes of a Champions League place. Spurs currently sit five points behind North London rivals Arsenal, but will have one eye on Manchester United, just two points further back, as they seek to defend would could be the last Europa League place.

To earn European football they’ll need to keep up their form at The Hawthorns, where they’ve won on each of their last two visits, including last season when saw Goran Popov was sent off for spitting at Kyle Walker.

KICK-OFF: Saturday, 3.07pm

PAST THREE MEETINGS…

Tottenham 1 (Eriksen) West Brom 1 (Olsson), Premier League, December 2013

West Brom 0 Tottenham 1 (Bale), Premier League, February 2013

Tottenham 1 (Assou-Ekotto) West Brom 1 (Morrison), Premier League, August 2012

STATS…

These two teams have not produced more than two goals in any of their last four meetings.

West Brom haven’t won at home since Pepe Mel became the manager in January

The Baggies have drawn 14 games this season, four more times than any other team. The have lost the fewest games of any of the teams in the bottom half of the league, but are in trouble because they have also won the fewest.

Tottenham’s Tim Sherwood has the best record of any Spurs manager in the Premier League era, winning 58.8% of his league games in charge.

Spurs have the league’s third best away record, only behind Manchester United and Liverpool, with nine wins from their 16 games on the road

Both of Tottenham’s last two away league games have ended in 4-0 defeats, against Liverpool and Chelsea. The last time they won away in the league was also 4-0, against Newcastle.

ODDS…

Tottenham to win: 3

Arsenal to win: 2.3

Draw: 3.5

TV: Highlights on BBC1 at 10.30pm