2018/19 Championship Playoff
Semi-Final 2nd leg
West Brom vs Aston Villa (Agg: 1-2)
The Hawthorns, Birmingham
Tuesday, May 14th
Kick-off at 21:00 (9pm)
Aston Villa will take a slender one-goal lead to the Hawthorns on Tuesday evening for the second leg of their Championship Playoff semi-final – the winner will find themselves just a solitary match away from a swift return to England’s Premier League.
The Villains have been out of the top-flight for just two seasons while West Brom were only relegated at the end of a long battle in 2017/18.
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This will be the 171st West Midlands Derby - and fourth meeting already this season - between two of the country’s oldest and most traditional clubs.
West Brom vs Aston Villa head-to-head: (all competitions)
Played: 170
West Brom Wins: 55
Draws: 37
Aston Villa Wins: 78
Second-half strikes from Conor Hourihane and Tammy Abraham – the latter’s 26th of the season - helped secure a come from behind victory for The Lions – the first time they have beaten West Brom at home since March 2015 - after Dwight Gayle had put the visitors in front at Villa Park with his 24th goal of the season before being sent-off in the dying minutes, meaning he will now miss the second leg for his side.
West Brom vs Aston Villa recent results:
11/05/2019 – Aston Villa 2-1 West Brom
16/02/2019 – Aston Villa 0-2 West Brom
07/12/2018 – West Brom 2-2 Aston Villa
23/01/2016 – West Brom 0-0 Aston Villa
19/09/2015 – Aston Villa 0-1 West Brom
The corresponding fixture earlier in the campaign saw Jay Rodriguez rescue a share of the spoils with his stoppage time equaliser to deny the Villa their first win at the Hawthorns since September 2008 – a streak of 7 matches that the Throstles will aim to extend on Tuesday. A draw however will not be enough this time out.
West Brom have won all of their last five matches at home starting with a 3-0 success over Swansea in caretaker coach James Shan’s first match in charge of the club.
Shan was installed following the sacking of Darren Moore just two months ago, winning six of his ten matches in charge, to ensure that last season’s bottom club in the Premier League at least earned a shot at redemption at the first time of asking.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has seen his side win five of their last six matches on the road since the start of March – part of a remarkable 12-match unbeaten run since they were beaten by West Brom 2-0 in the league in February that saw the Midlands side sneak into the playoffs.
Aston Villa and West Brom both lost their final Championship games of the season prior to the playoff, to champions Norwich City and fellow playoff contenders Derby County, respectively.
The winner will go on to face either Leeds United or Derby County in the final to be played at Wembley Stadium on Monday May 27th.
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