West Brom v Newcastle: Premier League – live!

30 mins: Newcastle try a prepared corner routine, the ball being played short to Shelvey. He has a first-time shot through given the way he approached the ball it was a miracle he managed to get it on target, and there was little pace on it, but it took a couple of deflections on its way to goal and Johnstone eventually beat it away awkwardly with a hand.

29 mins: You can tell when a game isn’t exactly thrilling when commentators decide to tell that story about the time they went to that restaurant once.

28 mins: Chance! Furlong’s long throw is flicked on to Diagne, who in mitigation doesn’t have a lot of time and has a defender in front of him, but shanks his volley wide off his shin.

27 mins: West Brom keep the ball from a while, work it from left to right. They have so far parlayed this possession into two throw-ins.

22 mins: Another ball through to Joelinton, who this time is pulled back by Bartley. The officials don’t spot this, and Amazon’s commentator generously says the incident occurred “almost too close” to the linesman, as in about five feet from him.

21 mins: Chance! Townsend crosses from the left and it drops to the left foot of Pereira, pretty much on the penalty spot, but he doesn’t get clean contact and the ball runs through to Dubravka.

19 mins: Fraser lifts the ball over the West Brom defence, and Joelinton is penalised for bulldozing through Townsend in his desperation to reach it. “Any idea what’s happened to Grady Diangana, who West Ham sold to WBA earlier in the season?” wonders Rob Lewis. “It caused huge ructions, Mr West Ham Mark Noble doing his nut over it. Seems a long time ago looking at the table today.” He’s been heavily involved this season, at least until a thigh injury early in the new year, and more recently an unspecified non-Covid illness.

15 mins: Phillips goes on a nice run down the West Brom left. His cross floats straight to Dubravka, but it’s good to see someone doing something with the ball other than get rid of it.

12 mins: Joelinton is played in on the right, outpaces his marker with worrying/encouraging ease and tries to square to Fraser, but it’s cut out.

10 mins: The ball hasn’t spent a lot of time on the ground so far. Johnstone, the West Brom keeper, has the ball, and whacks it down the ground to Dubravka, who rolls the ball out to Dummett, who hammers it back down the ground to Johnstone.

6 mins: Chance for Newcastle! They break, and Fraser is released down the left. Joelinton and Willock are to his right, and he tries to find the latter but the pass goes behind him, and what would have been a clear shot on goal and a phenomenal goalscoring opportunity is wasted.

4 mins: West Brom also win a corner; Pereira’s delivery is underhit and cleared, and then Gallagher’s is overhit.

3 mins: An early corner for the visitors, which is cleared, re-centred by Willock, and cleared again.

The players are out! Newcastle are in bright yellow, the officials in shocking pink. Time for the feet to do the talking.

‘If we are going to get anywhere near them, three points is vital for us today’

Sam Allardyce has a chat with Amazon’s microphone-wielder, about Thursday’s game at Everton:

Well, apart from the result it was our best performance since I’ve been at the club against Everton and really we should have delivered more in terms of points, but we have to say the players played that well, how can I make any changes? Recovery time is something we’re going to have to keep an eye on, and they won’t have the same energy they had on Thursday night. They will in the beginning, they know how big the game is, but we’ll have to use our substitutes as we need to.

We can only go out and play as well as we played on Thursday night, but more importantly we have to start creating and taking our chances. We’re creating them but not taking them. A win for us is critical, obviously. It’s massive. We’ve got to try to get the three points to get closer to Fulham and to get closer to Newcastle and Brighton. If we are going to get anywhere near them, three points is vital for us today.

Steve Bruce has a chat. He says he has picked Paul Dummett “for his experience, and we know what to expect from West Brom from set pieces and the threat they pose in that area”, and there’s also this, on his bust-up with Matt Ritchie:

Look, these things happen up and down the country. Unfortunately it’s got too much airtime. As far as I was concerned it was done and dusted within 24 hours. We move on. Let’s hope we can galvanise if that’s the right word, and get a result.

And this, on life without Almiron and Saint-Maximin, and a squad containing nobody who has scored more than two goals this season:

I mean, look, it’s difficult. When you put in Callum as well, you have your front three players. But we simply have to find a way. We have good players to come into those positions so let’s hope they can produce something a bit special and make sure we win the match. We had a really decent season last year, and our top goalscorer was Jonjo Shelvey with six. We know it’s not easy, but it is what it is, we have to find a way.

The teams are in! West Brom stick with the side that lost to Everton on Thursday while Newcastle make three changes: Lewis, Almiron and Saint-Maximin are out; Dummett, Fraser and Hendrick are in.

West Brom: Johnstone, Furlong, O’Shea, Bartley, Townsend, Yokuslu, Matheus Pereira, Gallagher, Maitland-Niles, Phillips, Diagne. Subs: Robson-Kanu, Ajayi, Robinson, Livermore, Sawyers, Peltier, Snodgrass, Button, Ahearne-Grant.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Krafth, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett, Hendrick, Shelvey, Hayden, Willock, Joelinton, Fraser. Subs: Carroll, Ritchie, Gayle, Lewis, Fernandez, Manquillo, Murphy, Darlow, Sean Longstaff.
Referee: Martin Atkinson.

Hello world!

What a day this is for Newcastle, what a moment. Sure, they are 17th and have impressed few people this season, but today, right now, right here, they have an opportunity to leave a difficult week emphatically behind them and extend their lead over 19th-placed West Bromwich Albion from nine points to 12, with 10 games remaining, and effectively leave themselves with only one relegation place still to worry about. Steve Bruce said this week that his team “will do our utmost to get out of the trouble, unfortunately, we’re in”, and that means perform, today.

(I wasn’t present at his press conference, but it seems more than usually rambling. For example: “More than ever, I’m 100% committed to trying to get us out of the trouble we’re in. I think the players are too. I’ve got 100% faith in them, and I think that remains vital to us. So, no, just because things get tough … I always knew things would be tough. Maybe it’s tougher than I thought, but I always knew it was going to be tough. It’s a tough gig this one, there’s no disputing that. But I’ll try my best, like I always do, to make sure that we’re OK.”)

Sam Allardyce’s response to stories about blazing rows between Bruce and Matt Ritchie was also enjoyable: “It’s a disagreement, what’s wrong with it? I like disagreements.” He agrees with disagreements. He finds disagreeing agreeable. That really is splendidly contrary of him. Anyway, it goes without saying that this is an enormously important game for the Baggies; whereas Newcastle really can’t afford to lose, they really can’t afford not to win … and you can’t really afford not to keep an eye on it.

Welcome! This could be a cracker*!

* He said, with no confidence whatsoever.