The fixture list has pitted two relegated sides against each other in their opening match of the season. Roberto Di Matteo has replaced Tony Mowbray at the Hawthorns, but WBA appear to be a stable club and without any key player departures to-date. The same cannot be said about a Newcastle team still without a permanent manager and necessarily shedding key players (Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen have gone, and Sebastien Bassong looks likely to follow).
WBA will also be buoyed by statistics that favour the home side in these early season encounters between teams relegated from the Premiership. There have only been nine clashes between relegated teams in the opening five matches of the season since 2001/02, and the home side have won five (55%) and lost just once in that time. Taking a sample in the same period including the first eight matches of the season and the home team have won 58% of 12 matches between two newly fallen Premiership sides (W7-D3-L2).
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Sat 11th Jul – Tolka Park Stadium
