Opposition View: Sunderland (a)

Chris chats to Graham from the What the Falk podcast...

You may not be aware of this but Albion have the Championship’s best away record at present with 15 points, a goal difference of +6 and an average of 1.88 points per game on their travels.

However, they face one of their sternest tests of the season on Tuesday night with a trip to Sunderland who are one of only four Championship sides to remain unbeaten at home so far this campaign.

So, as the unstoppable force meets the immovable object (I’ll let you decide which is which) how are our opponents feeling about the visit of the Baggies.

We asked Graham Falk of the What The Falk podcast for his thoughts.

You had quite a few players missing on Saturday, how many should be back on Tuesday?

Yes, we had about six first teamers out, some through injury and some through suspensions. The ones almost definitely out are Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne, while Dennis Cirkin is questionable. We've managed to get both Anthony Patterson and Aji Alese back from injury on Saturday after a few months out and Jobe, Patrick Roberts and Trai Hume will all be back in the team for Tuesday.

What do you make of your start to the season - it seems the only person who saw it coming was Gab Sutton😂.

I mean, I didn't expect us to be top or to have lost just two games by mid-November, but, a lot of how we're doing shows you how badly mismanaged we were from last December when Michael Beale was appointed. We've got a fantastic set of talented young players, Jobe and Chris Rigg being the stand outs, but they got flogged to death last year by us, and when Beale came in and wrecked the joint, we had literally no experience around them to give them a hand. We sold Lynden Gooch, Ross Stewart, Danny Batth and Alex Pritchard throughout the season and brought in untested young kids to replace. When shit hit the fan, they had no nous or experience to guide them. In the summer we signed some good young talent but also, crucially, some experience in the dressing room with Simon Moore and Alan Browne. Add in that those young lads have got an extra year’s experience, then add in the fact we signed a goal-scorer in the shape of Wilson Isidor (our strikers scored a combined total of three goals between the four of them last year). We're still seen as a young team, but we are a bit more resilient these days. Time will tell if we can keep it up. Tuesday feels crucial.

Do you think you can sustain a promotion push all season?