OPPO VIEW: WBA

With Sunderland heading to The Hawthorns to play against Tony Mowbray's West Brom, we once again spoke to Midlands football writer Joe Chapman to discuss how he thinks the match will go and his play-off prediction...

So, the Baggies find themselves hanging on to a play-off spot in 6th, tied on points with Boro and Bristol City. Based off the season so far, should West Brom fans expect to be higher in the table or is their current position fair?

Depending on who you asked, I think most Albion fans would've taken this position at the beginning of the season. The campaign is playing out very similarly to last year, whereby we were in and around the play-offs for most of the year but there were four very good sides above us who pulled away. That has pretty much happened in exactly the same fashion again this year.

I'm not convinced the league is great, and Albion have underwhelmed for periods this season but, because the league isn't a vintage Championship, they are in with a fighting chance and, at this stage, I'd be disappointed if they didn't finish at least sixth.

Albion have drawn far too many games this year and have conceded late goals to Hull, Oxford and Swansea this year: if those three points had been nine, the picture looks rosier. They haven't won back-to-back games since September so they're not the most predictable.

How has Tony Mowbray's return to management been? Do the fans believe he can deliver a top six finish and maybe something more?

It's been okay. There was the hammering of Portsmouth in his first game, 5-1, that perhaps got many excited and expectations immediately rose. Since then, they've had sticky games against Plymouth and Blackburn, good performances and draws at Leeds and Burnley and disappointing results to Hull and Norwich.

I've been disappointed by the lack of goals the club seem to be capable of scoring; despite having Adam Armstrong, Daryl Dike, Grady Diangana, Tom Fellows, Karlan Grant, Mikey Johnston and others, they don't tend to manage more than one a game. It's on Tony to unlock that and it needs to happen pretty quickly.

West Brom have the most draws in the Championship with 18! And of course one of those was at the SoL earlier in the season in what was a pretty boring game as it looked like WBA came to settle for a point. Can we expect the same game plan or will WBA come out and attack from the off on home soil?

Albion are a different animal at home. They've been night and day home and away since pretty much the early days of Carlos Corberan's reign - they've only won one game away since September but only lost once there in the same timeframe.

Mind you, Sunderland have had the wood on Carlos' Albion in the last couple of years, so it'll be interesting to see if Mowbray, who inflicted one of those defeats, can turn the tables as he did with Blues last season.

The ideal scenario is when you can draw away from home (as they have done at Leeds, Burnley, Sheffield United and Sunderland) and win your home games. They've drawn home and away with the other three, so you'd put your money on another this weekend!

West Brom have two former Sunderland lads in Josh Maja and Callum Styles. How are they doing and should we be worried about them on Saturday?

Maja sadly has had a setback and will likely only be back this season if Albion are in the play-offs, or shortly before at best. It's such a shame, as he looks absolutely fantastic in the first half of the season. He was on for at least 20 goals this season having notched 12 in 26 before his injury.

Whereas last year he was on the receiving end of a couple of poor challenges which practically ruled him out for the season, this year the boot was on the other foot - because of Daryl Dike's injury, he was relied on so much and was playing so well that he was basically overused and that created a problem.

Styles had to wait his turn at the beginning of the season. He only really got into the side in November after a strong start to the season from his teammates kept him on the bench. Albion and Corberan signed him with the clear role of him being left back. He has generally been a very, very good signing and has impressed his ability on the ball.

Who would you say has been your standout/best player this season?

Maja would have been up until January, no question. Torbjorn Heggem has played at left-back and centre half and, bar one or two minor errors, has also been a revelation for a small sum of money. He's a fully fledged international now and spends his international breaks away with Norway, playing with Haaland and Odegaard.

Tom Fellows has the most assists in the Championship this season but hasn't quite hit those heights in more recent weeks, while the best addition the club made in January has undeniably been Northern Ireland international Isaac Price from Standard Liege. He is an extremely exciting and versatile young player.

Last time we spoke, you highlighted Chris Rigg, Romaine Mundle and Wilson Isidor as key players you were worried about. Is that still the same heading into Saturday or has someone else caught your eye?

I have admired Sunderland's general recruitment model. You couldn't fail to have been impressed with Isidor's maiden season in England, but to have Rigg, Tommy Watson, Dan Neil on your books and through the academy is some going.

I went to The Hawthorns in the break to watch England under 21s and was mightily impressed with how much Jobe Bellingham has come on. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure about him the last couple of times he'd performed against Albion but he was excellent against Portugal. I guess that has come with good management and now allowing him to specialise in centre midfield rather than using him as a makeshift striker.

What is your score prediction? And the scorers?

1-1, I reckon Adam Armstrong will enjoy a goal against his rivals. Isidor for Sunderland.

As we approach the business end of the season, how do you see the end of the season for both sides?

I'd take a day out at Wembley against Sunderland! The truth is I can actually see Albion playing Sunderland over two legs in the semi-final. All in all, I reckon it'll be a tough enough prospect overcoming one of the big three sides in a play-off final, if it were to pan out that way.

Obvious financial benefits aside, I'm not too sure how much I even want Albion to be promoted - it looks a pretty punishing experience going up, these days. Football is meant to be fun and, in the Championship at least, you tend to have more good days than bad days.