Southampton vs West Brom Prediction: Saints can make it to Wembley

After their 0-0 at the Hawthorns, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion meet again at St Mary’s to decide who will make it to Wembley for the Championship play-off final. The first leg saw both goalkeepers pull off excellent saves to keep the scores level, and both Alex McCarthy and Alex Palmer will be key in deciding the outcome of this second leg. 

Below you can find my betting tips and predictions for this crunch clash, as Southampton take on West Brom in this vital second leg. 

Team News

Southampton will likely welcome back Che Adams in their starting line-up after he was rested as a precaution for the first leg on Sunday. He picked up a slight injury on the final day, and Russell Martin decided to hold him back, ready to unleash him for this one. Gavin Bazunu remains out injured so McCarthy will deputise in goal, while Martin is likely to switch to a back four having played five at the back in the last two games. 

West Brom could name an unchanged line-up, having done pretty well at the Hawthorns. Brandon Thomas-Asante is set to lead the line again, supported by Grady Diangana, who had two excellent opportunities to open the scoring in the home game. Carlos Corberan will prioritise defensive solidity here, with the trio of Palmer, Cedric Kipre and Kyle Bartley crucial to their success in this tie. 

HT/FT - Home/Home @ 33/20

I’m fairly confident in backing Saints to win this game, and make it to Wembley. I think they have several Premier League standard players in the form of Che Adams, Flynn Downes and Kyle Walker-Peters and should be able to control this tie, albeit against a dogged West Brom outfit. 

Interestingly I think we can boost our value by backing Saints to be leading at half-time, and then go on to win the game in 90 minutes. It was something we saw them do several times towards the end of the league season. They led 2-1 at Leeds at half-time, were beating Cardiff at half-time before that injury-time collapse, were 3-0 up against Preston at the break and were also leading Watford and Coventry after 45 minutes. 

That means they have led at half-time in five of their last eight matches and they went on to win four of those - with Cardiff being the only exception. Martin’s style means that it is so difficult to get the ball off his team, especially when they hold the lead, and I think that will be enough to see them to Wembley in front of their own fans.

Bet builder - Southampton to win 2-0 and Che Adams to score @ 61/4

I’m going big on this one, with a bet builder for this Championship second leg. I think Southampton will control this game, win it comfortably, but also manage the lead sensibly. The way they keep the ball is simply brilliant and I think they will bag a couple of goals, and then keep this West Brom side at bay. 

Their quality on the ball is exceptional, and they are receiving a big boost ahead of this second leg in the form of Adams. Rested for the first leg and set to return, Adams will give West Brom a completely different issue to deal with, as Sekou Mara failed to impress at the Hawthorns. I think he will find the net against West Brom in a 2-0 win. 

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