The Hawthorns

Saturday 25th January 2025 - 15:00
West Brom
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5
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Portsmouth
Key Events

Home colours match pack graphic for Albion V Portsmouth with both club badges on and a picture of Isaac Price posing for a photo while smiling at the camera in the home kit

Tony Mowbray will take charge of West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns for the first time since May 2009 on Saturday afternoon.

The Baggies boss will return to the home dugout in B71 for the Sky Bet Championship clash against Portsmouth (ko 3pm).

Mowbray's opening game as the club's new head coach ended in 2-0 defeat a at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

Visitors Portsmouth, who last played at The Hawthorns in December 2008, have won two on the bounce - home fixtures against Middlesbrough and Stoke City.

Albion stormed to a 3-0 success on the south coast back in September thanks to goals from Josh Maja and Alex Mowatt (2).

Tony Mowbray smiling as he arrives at Middlesbrough
Tony Mowbray will return to the home dugout at The Hawthorns this weekend

Follow the action LIVE

Supporters can listen to live audio commentary of Albion's match against Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.

Audio passes are available to purchase here.

Gez Mulholland and former Baggie Andy Johnson will provide live commentary, with coverage starting at 2.50pm.

Details for video streaming on WBA TV will be available here from Friday morning.

Supporters are kindly asked to direct any questions or complaints about WBA TV or WBA Radio to wbatvsupport@streamamg.com.

The club are unable to answer queries about WBA TV or WBA Radio sent to fans@wbafc.co.uk or myalbion@wbafc.co.uk.

Regular updates will also be posted across the club's social media channels throughout the day.

WBA Matchday

The visitors

Portsmouth remain in a fight to stay in the Sky Bet Championship with just under half of the season left to play, but they'll be buoyed by back-to-back victories over Middlesbrough (2-1) and Stoke City (3-1) recently.

Last season's Sky Bet League One champions sit on 29 points from their 27 games played and will be desperate to stay in the second tier having spent the last 12 terms in the bottom two tiers of the EFL.

Pompey had to wait until the middle of October for their first win of 2024/25 and have been bottom at various points, but six victories and two draws from their last 13 league matches has given them renewed confidence that they can achieve their target of survival. 

They have found recording positive results on their travels a challenge so far though, collecting just seven points from 14 away fixtures - winning just one and losing five on the spin.

John Mousinho is the gaffer. The 38-year-old Londoner represented Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Stevenage, Preston North End, Burton Albion and Oxford United as a player, before taking on the top job at Pompey in January 2023. 

He led them to the third-tier title last term and is tasked with steering them clear of trouble this time around. His record as their boss reads played 105, won 48, drawn 32 and lost just 25.

Several Portsmouth players in their home kit celebrate a goal in front of their fans
Pompey have picked up some impressive results recently

One from the history books

One of the most famous days in the history of West Bromwich Albion was a clash against Portsmouth in May 2005.

The Baggies were bottom of the Premiership heading into the final day fixture with the men from the south coast, knowing only a win would keep their survival chances alive.

Second-half goals from Geoff Horsfield and Kieran Richardson secured a 2-0 win for Bryan Robson's team, while incredible results elsewhere meant Albion, miraculously, stayed up, sending Southampton, Norwich City and Crystal Palace down. 

Supporters can watch the highlights below.

The last five at The Hawthorns

Albion 1-1 Portsmouth

December 2008, Premier League

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Albion 2-1 Portsmouth 

August 2005, Barclays Premiership

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Albion 2-0 Portsmouth

May 2005, Barclays Premiership

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Albion 5-0 Portsmouth

February 2002, Division One

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Albion 2-0 Portsmouth 

February 2001, Division One

Albion in action against Portsmouth at The Hawthorns in December 2008
The Baggies and Portsmouth last went head-to-head in B71 in December 2008

The stats

The last time Portsmouth came to The Hawthorns in December 2008, Tony Mowbray was West Bromwich Albion manager. The game ended 1-1 after efforts from Jonathan Greening and Peter Crouch. Former Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams was Pompey boss that afternoon.

The Baggies are unbeaten in seven home matches against Portsmouth (W5, D2). The last time the visitors were victorious in the West Midlands was back in February 1998 when they recorded a 3-0 triumph in a Division One clash. 

Albion have the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run at home to ten games on Saturday afternoon. The Baggies have won three and drawn six of their last nine fixtures in front of their own supporters. 

Having beaten Middlesbrough and Stoke City in the last seven days, Portsmouth could win three games in-a-row for the first time this season. The last time they recorded three consecutive victories was in March 2024.

The visitors will be hoping to avoid a sixth straight away league defeat. They've not lost six on the bounce on their travels since a run of nine between November 2005 and March 2006 when they were a Premier League outfit. 

An image of Grady Diangana and Callum Styles celebrating a goal against Stoke
Grady Diangana's equaliser last weekend extended Albion's unbeaten home run

The ticket details

The Ticket Exchange is now open for Albion's Sky Bet Championship match against Portsmouth.

The Baggies host Pompey this Saturday (January 25, ko 3pm) in Tony Mowbray's first official home game since being appointed head coach last week.

Only a very limited number of seats remain at The Hawthorns - but supporters can now purchase from the Ticket Exchange.

The Exchange allows season ticket holders to list their seat for resale, increasing the opportunity for fans to be at games, while reducing the number of empty seats in B71. 

Season ticket holders will receive a credit, equivalent to the pro-rata cost of their match ticket - minus a £1 selling fee - when their seat is sold.

Season ticket holders can list their seat for resale below

Click Here to List Seats for Resale via the Ticket Exchange

Supporters with a purchase history can buy a listed ticket below

Click Here to Purchase Seats from the Ticket Exchange

Donate your ticket to The Albion Foundation

Baggies fans can also donate their match tickets to The Albion Foundation by clicking on the button below and completing a form.

The ticket will be gifted to underprivileged beneficiaries who would otherwise be unable to attend.

Click Here to donate your ticket to The Albion Foundation

Alternatively, a small number of tickets remain available online, in-person from the East Stand Ticket Office or by calling 0121 227 2227.

Click Here to Read The Seller FAQs

Click Here to Read The Buyer FAQs

A ticket graphic displaying information for Albion's game against Portsmouth

For the fans

Supporters of both West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth with a valid match ticket can enter the Fan Zone free of charge from midday onwards on Saturday. 

A wide range of entertainment will be on offer including opportunities to grab the perfect selfie with both Baggie Bird and Boilerman, inflatable games put on by the Albion Foundation and live football on the big screen - the Sky Bet Championship fixture between Luton Town and Millwall (ko 12.30pm).

This week's live music, meanwhile, will be provided by Tom from West Brom.

In addition, fans can take advantage of plenty of food and drink options, so head on down and soak up the pre-match atmosphere!

The club shop will be open from 9am until kick-off, before reopening after the final whistle for a further half-an-hour. 

Concourse Special

The club are excited to offer supporters a special in the concourse – a Yorkshire pudding wrap, filled with a rich & pulled 12-hour braised beef blade and caramelised onion gravy. The special, priced £6, will be available from various kiosks from January 18 to March 8. 

Tony Mowbray surrounded by Albion fans outside The Hawthorns

An image of John Swift celebrating his goal with his teammates

A ruthless, five-star Albion hammered Portsmouth 5-1 in Tony Mowbray’s first home game back at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon.

Goals from Alex Mowatt, Grady Diangana (2) and Jed Wallace swept the Baggies into a huge half-time lead.

John Swift added another to complete the emphatic scoreline - despite a Pompey consolation - and secure the hosts’ biggest victory of the campaign.

Mowbray’s men now have a full week until their next outing, away to Plymouth Argyle (ko 12.30pm).

An image of Jed Wallace celebrating a goal with his teammates

The boss made two switches to his starting XI as captain Wallace and Swift replaced Jayson Molumby (ill) and Karlan Grant.

The Baggies were put under pressure by their visitors during the early stages, Alex Palmer keeping out Andre Dozzell’s volley and Ryley Towler nodding a corner wide.

From then on, though, Albion were utterly dominant. Mowatt began the scoring with a long-range half-volley, which squeezed through goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid.

Diangana then quickly secured the home team’s second. The excellent Mikey Johnston weaving around Portsmouth’s defence and seeing a shot saved, only for Albion’s No.11 to net the rebound.

An image of Alex Mowatt and John Swift hugging

And it was Diangana who superbly set-up his side’s third, playing former Pompey man Wallace in and watching the skipper convert his first goal this season.

Albion soon rounded-off a brilliant opening period just before the break when Mason Holgate’s direct pass over the top of the Pompey back-line gave Grady the chance to notch again - something he did comfortably.

An image of Grady Diangana celebrating

That same attacking intent grabbed the Baggies a fifth after half-time, too. Johnston caused mayhem once again and fed Swift to smash powerfully past Schmid.

The head coach introduced Isaac Price for his debut and there were further opportunities in the final stages. Most notably Fellows had a finish stopped and, down the other end, Heggem brilliantly blocked Josh Murphy’s attempt.

Pompey did prevent Albion earning a clean sheet, getting a very late consolation via Thomas Waddington, however the three points still firmly went to Mowbray’s boys.

Albion: Palmer; Furlong, Holgate, Heggem, Styles; Swift (Price 61), Mowatt (Diakite 46); Fellows, Diangana (Racic 66), Johnston (Grant 61); Wallace (Cole 61).

Substitutes: Wildsmith, Taylor, Frabotta, Bostock.

Attendance: 25,621 (2,492).