Game Preview - West Bromwich Albion (a)

Given that Roy Hodgson will be in one of the dugouts and the kick off is at 3pm on a Saturday, you could be duly forgiven for thinking we've actually stepped back a few years on the Fulham FC timeline when we visit West Brom tomorrow - but no such event has occured. Quite simply, Roy Hodgson has a new set of soldiers and we happen to have fell upon one of the few games on our calender that is actually being played out at the more traditional time.

Memories aside, though, Hodgson brings to the battle a fine set of tools and wisdom in his West Brom side who have, with a fair degree of bad luck, had a shaky start to the season. They've only recorded one win so far in the Premier League and that came over a beleaguered Norwich City side - albeit on their own turf. Despite their indifferent form, though, Hodgson has set up a side with resistive qualities and a curtailed potency up front - something we know quite well. Shane Long is their Bobby Zamora while Nicky Shorey and Zoltan Gera provide sterling examples of people that have literally followed Hodgson from Fulham to the Midlands.

Fulham themselves, meanwhile, have yet to achieve the goal of a win in the domestic front so far but still sit in a position above their opponents - who prop up the table. That said, Jol and his men have looked, at a minumum, respectable over their past couple of games. A fine comeback at home to Manchester City was uplifting while a cup defeat on penalties at Stamford Bridge certainly had its highlights. Pajtim Kasami's normal-time penalty miss perhaps not being one of them.

When we visited the Hawthorns last season we fell to a 2-1 defeat as Roberto Di Matteo sailed what was a steadily sinking ship. Mulumbu and Fortune provided their goals but they were to no avail with regards to the manager's job - he was replaced within months. In the reverse fixture we fired 3 goals past the Baggies at Craven Cottage without reply.

Shane Long looks likely to return for the home side, after illness kept him out of his side's midweek defeat to Everton. Gabriel Tamas is still suspended.

Aaron Hughes could plausibly start after coming back from a knee injury - although whether Jol will risk him is yet to be seen. Dickson Etuhu and Bjorn Helge Riise are still ruled out.

Predicted Line-Up: Schwarzer; Riise, Hangeland, Senderos, Baird; Dempsey, Murphy, Sidwell, Duff; Zamora, Dembele.

Score Prediction: West Brom 0 - 2 Fulham