West Bromwich Albion

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West Brom boss Tony Mowbray admitted he "didn't particularly like" his side's performance in their 2-1 win over Watford.

"I think the three points is the most important thing, I didn't particularly like our performance," he told BBC WM.

"I prefer to dominate the game and have double the shots of the opposition. It was a strange game today, they're a hugely athletic team and gave us some problems and yet I always felt on transitions there was a lot of space for us to play into.

"Two cutback goals is brilliant because we've worked on that a lot in the past 10 days.

"After the Sunderland game where we had over 60% possession and over 20 shots and lose 1-0, I said to the players do they want to be the dominant team or do you want to defend deeper and leave some space to counter-attack. It was interesting for me to see how quickly we could break away. It's food for thought moving forward."

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West Bromwich Albion have been unsuccessful in their attempt to overturn Jayson Molumby's red card at Bristol City on Tuesday night.

The 25-year-old Republic of Ireland midfielder was sent off in the final minute of normal time for his challenge on City player Joe Williams.

The hosts then took advantage of their extra man to come back and win 2-1.

To add to Albion's woes, the club's appeal has now been rejected by the English Football League's disciplinary department and he will have to serve an automatic three-game ban.

Molumby will miss Saturday's home game with Watford and the Easter weekend fixtures at Coventry City and at home to Derby County.

Albion sit eighth in the Championship, now five points shy of the last of the teams in the play-off places, with just five games left.

Molumby will not be available until the trip to Cardiff City on Saturday 26 April.

West Bromwich Albion have slipped five points behind the Championship play-off places with a five-match winless streak.

A win for Watford at The Hawthorns would see them overtake the Baggies in the table.

• West Brom have won just one of their past 12 league games against Watford (D6 L5), and are winless in their past eight (D4 L4) since a 3-1 victory in December 2016 in the Premier League.

• Watford have only won one of their past 12 league visits to West Brom (D6 L5), a 1-0 Premier League victory in April 2016.

• West Brom have lost each of their past three league games, but haven't lost four in a row outside the Premier League since April 1999 (5).

• Watford have lost 11 Championship away games this season, their most away defeats in a league season outside of the Premier League since 2009-10 (13).

• West Brom boss Tony Mowbray has won just one of his past seven Championship games against Watford (D2 L4), a 2-0 victory with Sunderland in October 2023.

West Bromwich Albion and Watford will both be looking to keep their Championship play-off hopes alive when they meet at The Hawthorns on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Baggies are eighth and three points off the top six, while the Hornets are one point further back in 10th.

Albion are without a win in five games (D2 L3) and Watford have won two of their previous seven matches (D2 L3).

• West Brom have won just one of their previous 12 league games against Watford (D6 L5), and are winless in their last eight (D4 L4) since a 3-1 victory in December 2016 in the Premier League.

• Watford have only won one of their past 12 league visits to West Brom (D6 L5), a 1-0 Premier League victory in April 2016.

• West Brom have lost each of their past three league games, but haven't lost four in a row outside of the Premier League since April 1999 (5).

• Watford have lost 11 Championship away games this season, their most away defeats in a league season outside of the Premier League since 2009-10 (13).

• West Brom's Tony Mowbray has won just one of his past seven Championship games against Watford (D2 L4), a 2-0 victory with Sunderland in October 2023.

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West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Mowbray has left it as late as possible before making a decision on injured defender Torbjorn Heggem ahead of Saturday's visit of 10th-placed Watford.

After three straight defeats, Albion have fallen to eighth, five points adrift of the play-offs, and now play host to a Hornets side just a point behind them.

But, although Isaac Price is fit, despite playing with an ankle injury in Tuesday's late 2-1 defeat at Bristol City, the other team news is not so encouraging.

Albion have appealed against Jayson Molumby's red card at Ashton Gate, but striker Tammer Bany (hamstring) and defender Ousmane Diakite (ankle) are almost certainly out and Mowbray is waiting on Heggem, who also has an ankle problem.

And there was no fresh update on top scorer Josh Maja's leg injury, which has sidelined him since early January.

"Bany has been for a scan on a hamstring and I don't think Diakite is going to make it," said Mowbray. "It's an ankle ligament injury, in a challenge. There was a bit more force.

"Heggem, we'll have to wait and see, but it'll be close. He didn't train on Thursday. But Friday is the day we make decisions, because if they don't train Friday then they won't play."

Mowbray knows his side need to score more goals. Of all the teams in the Championship's top half, only Blackburn (44) and Millwall (40) have scored fewer than the 49 managed by Albion and Saturday's opponents Watford.

But, more worryingly, the Baggies have now shipped eight goals after the 86th minute this season – including stoppage-time winners in two of their past three games.

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West Bromwich Albion have appealed against Jayson Molumby's late dismissal in Tuesday night's Championship defeat at Bristol City.

The Republic of Ireland midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 89th minute at Ashton Gate after a challenge on Joe Williams.

"I know it's tough for the referees," Baggies head coach Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio WM. "The game is getting faster and faster but, having watched it back, it's probably the wrong decision in the context of the game.

"He actually pushed him over with his hip, jumped into a challenge but fell short of making the challenge.

"The referee saw the aggression of a challenge he didn't end up making. He 'hipped' him over. There were no studs shown, nothing which could have damaged the boy. He just kind of barged him over."

Albion have submitted a claim of wrongful dismissal to the Football Association.

"We appealed," added Mowbray. "I didn't have any input into that. If the club felt it worth appealing then so be it. And I can understand why you would."

The Baggies went on to concede a 96th-minute winner from City full-back Haydon Roberts - to register their third league defeat in a row.

Molumby has started 30 Championship games this season for Mowbray's side, who now host 10th-placed Watford on Saturday (15:00 BST) in a match crucial to Albion's play-off hopes after those three straight losses, which have dropped them to eighth.

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West Brom manager Tony Mowbray said his side have to "accept" the result and move on after conceding a 96th-minute goal to lose 2-1 to play-off rivals Bristol City.

"I can't keep repeating the same things. We have to find a way. I've just vented a bit of frustration, I feel as if it can't happen, they can't score in the 96th minute, even though we're a man down we've still got nine outfield players in that box," Mowbray told BBC Radio WM.

"Somebody has to block it, somebody has to get their body there. It's a frustration because I think if anybody was going to win it before the sending off it was us.

"We were in the ascendancy, their crowd had gone quiet, we were dominating the ball, we had an amazing chance to score and win it with a couple of them in the last 15 minutes and to lose it.

"Is cruel the right word? It seems ridiculous to me but we have and we have to accept it and move on."

West Bromwich Albion will make the trip to Ashton Gate on Tuesday (19:45 BST) to try and knock Bristol City out of a play-off place.

Victory for the Baggies will see them level with the Robins on points but with a better goal difference.

However, Albion are winless across their past four league matches and have lost both of their past two.

Whereas, their hosts have only lost one in nine and will be hoping their form continues to see the West Midlands side drift further afield.

• Bristol City have only won one of their last nine league meetings with West Bromwich Albion (D2 L6), a 2-0 away win in October 2022.

• West Brom have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four league meetings with Bristol City. Only against four sides have they avoided conceding in 5+ consecutive league meetings in their history: Nottingham Forest (5 ending 1898), Birmingham (7 ending 1923), Brighton (5 ending 1990), and Middlesbrough (5 ending 2016).

• Bristol City are unbeaten in their last seven midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W3 D4), last going on a longer such run which ended in September 2015 (16).

• West Brom are winless in their last 12 away league games (D7 L5), only twice before enduring a longer run outside of the top-flight, going 13 without a win from October 1929 to March 1930 and 14 from August 1994 to January 1995.

• West Brom's Tony Mowbray has won just one of his last six away league games against Bristol City (D2 L3), a 2-0 victory with Blackburn in December 2019.

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West Brom head coach Tony Mowbray hinted that he will stick by Joe Wildsmith despite the goalkeeper's latest error in the home defeat by Sunderland.

Wildsmith was slow to react to Trai Hume's first-half free-kick and the Baggies were unable to get back on level terms.

"Joe acknowledged he made a pretty bad mistake which cost us a goal, and ultimately the game," Mowbray said.

"But that's the job as a goalkeeper. It's frustrating because that becomes the narrative. With the chances we had and the situations we got into, you have to put the ball in the net.

"We've been here before but I'll see what he's like in training and see how he reacts. It's very naive to think 'the goalie makes a mistake, so change the goalie'.

"If the goalie you put in makes a mistake in the next game, where do you go then? Change him again? I don't think so. I will rely on my experience to make the right decisions. But the responsibility of the team is to score some goals in a game we were on top of for most of it."

Mowbray publicly backed Wildsmith last month following an error by the keeper in a 1-1 draw against Burnley.

Another game with huge play-off implications takes place at The Hawthorns on Saturday (15:00 BST) as West Bromwich Albion welcome Sunderland.

Tony Mowbray's side are clinging on to their top-six spot on goal difference with seven games remaining while his former club remain in the fourth spot they have occupied every week bar two since early December, and may well remain there until the season finishes, with a nine point gap to third-placed Burnley and a 13-point cushion over Coventry in fifth.

The Baggies have won just one of their past five games and saw a six-match unbeaten run ended at Norwich on Saturday while the Black Cats made it 10 points from their past seven games with a narrow win over Millwall at the weekend.

• West Bromwich Albion have won none of their past four league games against Sunderland (D1 L3) since a 2-1 win in December 2022.

• Sunderland have won each of their past two away league matches against West Brom and are looking to win three in a row for the first time since winning their first five there between 1890 and 1894.

• West Brom have lost one of their past 15 home league games (W7 D7) and have won four of their six games at the Hawthorns (D1 L1) since Tony Mowbray returned to the club.

• Sunderland have won 20 league games this season, their most in a campaign within the top-two tiers of English football since winning 27 in 2006-07.

• West Brom midfielder Alex Mowatt has completed 1,993 passes in the Championship this season, an average of 62 per 90 minutes which is the most by a Baggies player in a league season that Opta has on record.

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West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Mowbray is confident his side will finish in a play-off spot despite suffering a "cruel" last-minute defeat at Norwich City on Saturday.

The Baggies are sixth in the Championship and level on points with both Middlesbrough and Bristol City directly below them but ahead only on goal difference.

"We're not looking at any teams below us, we're looking at the teams above us," Mowbray told BBC Radio WM following the loss at Carrow Road which means Albion are still two points behind Coventry in fifth.

"I think if that's the performance level of our team [against Norwich], we will win enough games to get where we want to be.

"We've got some really interesting games and games against teams in and around us, the likes of Bristol City and Coventry.

"We will define our own season by the results and the performance levels against those teams."

Sunderland, who sit comfortably in fourth, are the visitors to The Hawthorns for Albion's next game on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

"We have to perform at the level every week but it's difficult because sometimes at home, teams come and have a huge block behind the ball," Mowbray said ahead of the clash with the Black Cats.

"I don't think that will be the case next week. Sunderland will come and play their football, I'm pretty sure.

"It will be a good game and a real challenge for us against a team who have shown they are one of the best four teams in the division."

Norwich City are looking to end a four-match winless streak when they host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (15:00 GMT)

The Baggies are going for a first away league win since 10 November.

• Norwich City have won just one of their past seven league games against West Brom (D3 L3), though that sole victory did come in this exact fixture last season (2-0).

• West Brom have won three of their past five away league games against Norwich City (D1 L1), with each of those victories coming via a one goal margin.

• Norwich have lost two of their past four home league games (W1 D1), as many defeats as across their prior 30 matches at Carrow Road combined (W18 D10).

• West Brom have failed to win any of their past 11 away league games (D7 L4), last enduring a longer winless run on their travels between September 2017 and March 2018 in the Premier League (15 games).

• West Brom's Adam Armstrong has struck four goals across seven prior Championship meetings with Norwich, with three of those coming across his two matches against the Canaries last season with Southampton.

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West Bromwich Albion will need to start winning consistently away from home to secure their Championship play-off spot, according to head coach Tony Mowbray.

The Baggies are sixth in the Championship, ahead of seventh-placed Bristol City only on goal difference.

West Brom's last victory away from The Hawthorns was on 10 November - when Carlos Corberan was in charge - a run of 12 winless matches, in all competitions.

"We're going to have win a game or so on the road," Mowbray told BBC WM, ahead of Saturday's trip to Carrow Road to play Norwich City (15:00 GMT).

"We can't keep drawing games and thinking it's okay, we have to find a way to win so we are going to Norwich this weekend and be really positive and aggressive."

No team in the top-six tiers of English football have drawn more than West Brom's 10 games on the road this season.

"We've been throwing punches - we could have scored two or three goals at Leeds, we could have won at Burnley when hitting the bar late on," added Mowbray.

"I'm trying not to be submissive or passive to the opposition but you have to respect they're decent football teams.

"Generally we're going to try to win every game and that's the mindset I try to put in the team not 'let's take a point here today lads and be happy with it'."