Demba Ba To Get Back On Goal Trail Against West Brom

By Sam Darby on 20/12/2011 16:13

Newcastle are beginning to find the going tough after a very strong start to the season, it was always a little inevitable that their form would dip but it has been exaggerated recently by some injuries to key players and Newcastle have now dropped down to seventh, three points ahead of Stoke. West Brom have also been going through a minor blip of their own but they returned to winning ways at the weekend and a win every three or four games has kept the Baggies afloat this season and it looks as though they should be safe once again this season.

Yohan Cabaye is one of many players in the Premiership at this time of year who has picked up his fifth booking of the season and as a result he sits this game out through suspension. Dan Gosling is also suspended following his recent sending off whilst there are doubts about the fitness of Ryan Taylor and Danny Guthrie who are struggling with ankle and groin injuries respectively.

West Brom have a minor injury crisis at the moment and as a result they have had to recall the likes of Marc-Antoine Fortune, Gonzalo Jara and George Thorne from loan spells with other clubs. Players expected to miss out include Paul Scharner and Youssouf Mulumbu who will both undergo late fitness tests ahead of this match whilst definitely out is James Morrison who has a hamstring injury.

Newcastle have been very strong at St James Park this season but West Brom have been surprisingly good on the road, they have only lost three out of eight games which is a great record for a team who are thirteenth in the league. A draw could be the best bet in this game but whatever happens Newcastle look very likely to score against a team who haven't kept a clean sheet in over two months and if any player scores for Newcastle it is likely to be Demba Ba. He has scored as many league goals as Sergio Aguero this season and despite not scoring against Swansea he went close on several occasions, Ba should be backed to score anytime in this match.
 

Recommendation: BACK DEMBA BA TO SCORE ANYTIME