Mark Lawrenson predicts West Brom v Newcastle, comments on how Hawthorns atmosphere will change

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Newcastle United travel to take on West Bromwich Albion tonight.

Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks West Bromwich Albion will beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the Premier League this evening.

The Baggies head into the game having drawn 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon, with Salomon Rondon opening the scoring before Harry Kane equalised in the second half.

West Brom served up a plucky display at Wembley Stadium, and caretaker boss Gary Megson will have been pleased with the performance following the departure of former manager Tony Pulis.

Megson remains in caretaker charge for tonight’s game despite rumours of Alan Pardew being close to landing the job, and the Baggies will hope to pile on the misery for Newcastle.

The Magpies head to The Hawthorns having been thumped 3-0 by Watford over the weekend, meaning they have now lost four in a row after defeats to Burnley, Bournemouth and Manchester United.

Rafael Benitez will be desperate to get back to winning ways tonight, as the shine is quickly coming off Newcastle’s strong start to the season, and he won’t want a blip to become a slump with another defeat.

Ahead of the game, pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he felt West Brom played ‘very well’ against Spurs, and believes it’s a good time to play Newcastle.

Anticipating a better atmosphere at West Brom now Pulis has gone, Lawrenson is backing the Baggies to claim a 2-1 victory and inflict a fifth straight defeat on Newcastle and Benitez.

“West Brom played very well at Wembley under caretaker manager Gary Megson, and it looks as though he will be in charge again for this game.” said Lawrenson. “It feels like a good time to play Newcastle, who have lost four games in a row, because their confidence will be very low.”

“There will also be a very different atmosphere at The Hawthorns compared to previous weeks because many Baggies supporters wanted Tony Pulis out. This is their first home game since his departure so some of their fans will be celebrating that,” he added.