High flying Saints take on a Baggies side who are on a downward trajectory, on paper there should only be one winner, however as we know from the past, that is no guarantee that the result will go to recent form.

West Brom arrive at St Mary's having lost 5 out of the last 9 Championship games, winning just 2 and drawing the other couple of games.

When you consider that of those games they took points in, the two wins were against Oxford & Swansea both on the edge of the relegation zone and one of the draws was against crisis club Sheffield Wednesday, the other being 1-1 with Birmingham City at the Hawthorns.

They have lost all 5 of the away games in this 9 game run, however a word of caution, aside from their 3-1 defeat at QPR at the weekend, the other 4 were all lost by just one goal.

So that shows that they are not as bad a side as the form book suggests, indeed the fact that they are only two points behind us going into this game, shows that they started the season far better than us.

One player who won't be available for them is Charlie Taylor who of course is on loan from us, however this will not be a big loss for them as the defender has been an unused sub in the last 3 games.

This will not be as easy a game as it looks on paper and we have to beware of complacency that comes from such a great run since Tonda Eckert took over.

We have to focus on the aim of this game, this is getting the three points and moving within spitting distance of the play off spots.

In this aspect I don't expect many changes from Tonda Eckert in the starting line up, Adam Armstrong seems to be the only doubt after getting a knock in the game against Birmingham, but the reports coming out of St Mary's suggest that he is fit and there are no other new injury issues in the squad and it's only the longer term absentee's still out.

The one question though is whether Flynn Downes is well enough to play two games in quick succession, on Saturday the midfielder completed the full 90 minutes and was a crucial element in the team's win, Birmingham had the lions share of possession, especially in the second half, so Downes had to work hard and this may have taken it's toll on him, so I would not be surprised to see Cameron Bragg in the side for this one.

Other than that it's hard to see much changing, perhaps there might be a player rested in defence, Joshua Quarshie replaced Jack Stephens in the game against Leicester to add pace to the back 3, that might again be the case tonight to deal with striker Aune Heggebo.

The Norwegian has burst into life in the last few weeks, after just 1 league goal up to a month ago, he has scored 6 times in the last 5 games, he will be there dangerman, Tonda Eckert has admitted that in his press conference, so will he bring in Quarshie to deal with it.

The Saints bench will again be very strong and in the next few weeks with the likes of Shea Charles, Ross Steward, Mads Roerslev & Elias Jelert returning in the next few weeks, it bodes well for the second half of the season.

But in the meantime we have to just keep this run going, with every game Tonda Eckert has shown that he is maturing & learning as a manager, he doesn't make change for change sake, he thinks about when & where to make changes in the side both in starting line ups & substitutions and his game management is superb, I keep saying this, but with Eckert it is about getting the result and when you are in a winning position making sure you don't lose it.

So we go into this game with confidence, but with the re assurance that in Tonda Eckert we have a coach who is not going to let complacency set in, in his team.

We need to go out tonight and play our own game, us the pace of former West Brom winger Tom Fellows and Leo Scienza, and get the ball to Adam Armstrong & Finn Azaz.

Do what we do and do it well and then keep it tight at the back and we can take a massive step forward tonight, the aim is to get within spitting distance of the play offs, beat the Baggies and we could well be in that position and hopefully go into Saturday's game at Norwich knowing that a win there could see us in the top 6.

This season has a long way to go, we are now into perhaps it's toughest period, starting with the game against Birmingham, we and our fellow Championship clubs play 8 games in just 4 weeks, it is a period where injuries are picked up and also suspensions kick in.

But we more than any other club have the ability to get through this period, we have a bigger squad than most and packed with proven quality, a look through our squad shows we could put out an XI from the fringe players that could survive in this division and that is going to be a big factor.

But in the meantime it is one game at a time, get this one done and move on to the next.

All Photos Via Reuters

ReturnOfThe added 09:57 - Dec 9 We seem to have got ourselves into a situation where subs play a holding position, rather than pose any kind of threat. All well and good when we are ahead, but I wonder about those situations where we find ourselves chasing the game. For me the return of our more attack minded players on the injury list can’t come soon enough; I like our “first 11” setup, but we also need an attacking plan B.

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SaintNick added 11:05 - Dec 9 Good point, but we usually have Damion Downs, Cameron Archer, Ryan Fraser & Joe Robinson available plus the Japanese guy Matsuki
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underweststand added 11:16 - Dec 9 Highlighting opponents "poor form" may seem like an encouragement, but everyone's luck changes sometime. West Brom.'s form has dropped off badly of late but it doesn't mean they will be a walkover. However, it's games like this that MUST be won if we are to make a serious attempt at promotion. We can recall previous season's when we did well against top teams, but lapsed badly against lower teams and even lost to those in the drop zone, which means we shouldn't look at the upcoming Norwich game as a foregone conclusion. Tonda has taken the squad by the scruff of the neck and they have produced some good displays, but 3 points from games like this are vital with the likes of home games like v. Coventry, Millwall and then away at Middles'boro coming up in the next month. On current form we ought to chalk up another win but can't take anything for granted.

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Bowlercow added 13:54 - Dec 9 I rate Ryan Mason as a coach and expect him to give his team a game plan to frustrate and contain our attack It almost certainly will not be as entertaining as the Brum game Hopefully Tonda will show his versatility and come up with another winning formula I would advise anyone who hasn't already done it to watch both halves of his press conference on the os
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WestSussexSaint added 13:56 - Dec 9 The crowd need to keep pushing the team forward. Saturday’s match against Birmingham seemed a little flat to me, at least for the first 20 mins, almost as if the complacency had crept into the fan base and we just had to turn up and watch a win. The fans need to play their part to make sure the team don’t fall into the same trap.
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onetowatch added 14:08 - Dec 9 Nick, I'm pleased that you mentioned FD in your article. I'm always amazed on this forum to realise how many detractors he has in our fanbase. He is essential within this squad. His work rate allows him to be the one player who is continuously making interceptions, tackles and protecting our back line, plus always prepared to carry the ball forward when there's no passing options. With SC coming back, along with the pace and creativity we also have in midfield, it's the one area I don't have concerns, but hope FD remains to play a key role in it.

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