Peterborough United vs West Bromwich Albion

27th August

Albion return to Sky Bet Championship action with a trip to newly-promoted Peterborough United on Saturday night (ko 8pm).

The Baggies are unbeaten in their opening four league matches, winning the previous three against Luton Town, Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers.

No team in the division has scored more goals than Albion’s 11 heading into matchweek five, with five different players getting on the scoresheet.

Saturday’s opponents Posh have made a solid start to life back in the second tier after eight years away. They’ve taken four points from their four games and are yet to be beaten at the Weston Homes Stadium.

How to follow the game

Gez Mulholland and Andy Johnson will be on hand to talk you through all of Saturday night’s action on WBA Radio.

Fans will need a My Albion account to access full commentary. Those who haven’t signed up already can do so here.

Supporters can purchase an Audio Match Pass here. Live commentary starts from 15 minutes before kick-off and will be accessible through the live match centre.

Similarly, you can get your fix of Baggies-biased commentary for every league game by getting a Matchday Season Pass here.

If you have any issues registering or accessing your My Albion account please contact myalbion@wbafc.co.uk.

Opposition

Peterborough United are back in the Sky Bet Championship after spending eight years in the third tier of English football.

Posh finished second in League One last term behind winners Hull City, scoring an impressive 83 goals in the process.

Saturday night’s hosts have made a solid start to life back in the Championship, taking four points from their opening four games. All of those points have come at the Weston Homes Stadium, where Darren Ferguson’s men scored twice in injury-time to seal a 2-1 win over Derby County before being pegged back by Cardiff to draw 2-2 having led 2-0 until the 83rd minute.

Boss Ferguson is now well into his third spell at the club and is only a handful of matches away from managing 500 for Posh. The Scot has won promotion four times with Peterborough, but his sights will be firmly set on securing survival in the Championship this term.

Classic match

Albion beat Peterborough 3-2 in August 2009.

The Baggies raced into a three-goal lead thanks to a Luke Moore brace and a Chris Brunt strike, but Posh pulled two goals back through Craig Mackail-Smith and Aaron McLean to ensure a nervy finale.

Did you know?

The Baggies have won five of the eight meetings between the sides since the turn of the century, drawing the other three.

The most recent H2H saw Albion edge past Peterborough on penalties in the Emirates FA Cup at the Weston Homes Stadium after the 90 minutes ended 1-1.

Away kit colours

The Baggies will wear their black away kit for the second consecutive Sky Bet Championship game after winning in it at Blackburn last weekend.

Not got yours yet? Order it here.

28th August

Albion netted a dramatic stoppage time goal to win 1-0 at Peterborough in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday night.

A hard-fought encounter against the Posh looked like it would end as a goalless draw, but as extra-time edged towards a close, Matt Phillips raced down the line before crossing a low ball for Semi Ajayi to side-foot home, sparking scenes of jubilation in the away end.

The results leaves Albion second in the Sky Bet Championship table on goal difference, equalling Fulham's record of 13 points from their opening five games.

Valérien Ismaël was without last week’s starters Callum Robinson and Matt Clarke at Weston Homes Community Stadium, instead naming Phillips and Ajayi in his XI.

The sides exchanged early attempts towards goal; Jonson Clarke-Harris nodded over for the hosts before, down the other end, Darnell Furlong volleyed wide.

Albion started to create more opportunities midway through the first period – the best when Karlan Grant and Conor Townsend played a clever one-two down the left, with the former seeing his low shot well saved by Christy Pym.

Peterborough might have stolen the lead going into the break as Jack Marriot beat the Baggies defence to the ball, but Sam Johnstone comfortably stopped his effort from outside the box and it was goalless at half-time.

Adam Reach came on at the interval, replacing Kyle Bartley, and new signing Jordan Hugill also made his first Albion appearance in place of Grady Diangana after 57 minutes.

The Baggies began to dominate around the hour mark. Phillips almost opened the scoring - his header scrambled off the line - and then Ajayi smashed the post from close range during a spell of real pressure.

The hosts were dangerous on the counter-attack and threatened their visitors with a number of set-pieces, yet Albion held firm and continued to press forward.

And they finally found the breakthrough four minutes into added time, Phillips driving past the Peterborough back-line to cross for Ajayi to tap home – sparking wild scenes in the away end.

Albion: Johnstone, Ajayi, Bartley (Reach 45), O’Shea; Furlong, Livermore, Mowatt, Townsend; Diangana (Hugill 57), Phillips, Grant.

Substitutes: Cann, Taylor, Gardner-Hickman, Snodgrass, Fellows.

Saturday 28th August 2021 - 20:00