I'll feel a whole lot more optimistic when I hear official confirmation that 'Zaha is not even on the bench'. Till then I have an expectation he'll pop up with his customary goal to steal a point or three.
Apparently he has a thigh injury that has already prevented him taking a knee. My advice to him is to have a nice rest this evening, put his feet up and enjoy a couple of episodes of 'Ho(l)m(sdal)es under the Hammer' on catch up
Lmao... from what I'm able to gather pretty much every derby in 21th century Premier League is a kindergarten fixture, in a lot of ways, compared to most derbies elsewhere in Europe. But yeah for me its definitely more interesting (since I care about the outcome) than eg Hammarby - Djurgården.
There is a pretty major thing that doesn't point to an Albion win. This season, we have consistently struggled against sides who've parked the bus/played pretty defensively negatively. Our record against the top 9 is better than against the bottom 11.
...in spite of the fact that the bottom 11 presumably includes us?
The Holy Trinity of Bissouma, Gross and Mac Allister will be imperious tonight. It comes down to whether we can convert the continuous conveyor belt of chance-laden plates.
Really hoping to see a surprise inclusion of Jose Izquierdo on the bench tonight