West Bromwich Albion are having a similar season to Wigan Athletic’s 2012-13 campaign.
West Bromwich Albion are seven points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Premier League.
Alan Pardew’s side are now favourites for the drop and need to find wins quickly if they are to have any chance of survival. The Baggies have won three league matches all season. That is as many as they have won in the cup competitions combined.
Albion are in the fifth round of the FA Cup and have a favourable home draw against relegation rivals Southampton. Should they win that, they will be in the quarter-finals and 90 minutes away from an appearance at Wembley.
In that respect, West Brom are having a similar season to Wigan Athletic in 2012-13. The Latics finished 18th in the Premier League and were relegated despite winning the FA Cup.
There is every chance West Brom could do exactly the same. Pardew is a good cup manager and has reached two FA Cup finals in his career with Crystal Palace (2016) and West Ham United (2006).
West Brom’s 3-2 victory at Anfield in the cup was easily their best performance of the season so, if they can continue that sort of form in the remaining cup games and if the draw is kind to them, we may have another club win the cup and get relegated.
Pardew has played strong teams so far despite Albion’s position, so he is definitely taking the cup seriously and trying to use it to gain momentum going into league games.
West Brom’s win ratio in the league points towards relegation so, given how they have performed in both competitions, winning the cup seems just as probable as survival.
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