The defeat to Huddersfield means that this season is now Albion’s worst ever in the Premier League at this stage. Even in 2004/05, Albion had more points after 28 games and survival hopes are looking increasingly forlorn.
If you’re looking for positive omens, Albion haven’t lost game 29 since 2005 and have won their 29th game of the season in six of the last seven seasons, although last season it proved to be their final victory of the season!
In the Great Escape season, game 28 saw Albion grab a crucial victory over Birmingham City with Neil Clement and Kevin Campbell both finding the next in a 2-0 win. The Baggies had lost a game on their immediate rivals having been due to play Chelsea on the weekend they were beating Arsenal in the League Cup final. Both Southampton and Crystal Palace had picked up four points in their two games, but Albion’s win moved them above Norwich and off the bottom for the first time since November. They would only find themselves at the foot of the table once more that season, immediately before the final game.
After that match the table stood as follows:
| Premier League Relegation Battle – 6th March 2005 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 17. | Crystal Palace | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 32 | 45 | -13 | 26 |
| 18. | Southampton | 29 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 30 | 44 | -14 | 24 |
| 19. | West Brom | 28 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 49 | -24 | 21 |
| 20. | Norwich City | 29 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 29 | 58 | -29 | 20 |
Here are the full season by season comparisons.
| Home | Away | Season End | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn* | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn | Pts | |
| 2002/2003 | 28 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 43 | 21 | 19th | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 24 | 8 | 19th | 26 |
| 2004/2005 | 28 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 21 | 19th | 3 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 28 | 5 | 17th | 34 |
| 2005/2006 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 42 | 26 | 17th | 6 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 23 | 7 | 19th | 30 |
| 2008/2009 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 25 | 54 | 22 | 20th | 5 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 27 | 5 | 20th | 32 |
| 2010/2011 | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 36 | 53 | 29 | 17th | 5 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 30 | 9 | 11th | 47 |
| 2011/2012 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 34 | 37 | 35 | 14th | 4 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 10th | 47 |
| 2012/2013 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 38 | 37 | 40 | 9th | 8 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 13 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 14 | 8th | 49 |
| 2013/2014 | 28 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 25 | 17th | 3 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 23 | 9 | 17th | 36 |
| 2014/2015 | 28 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 26 | 36 | 30 | 13th | 5 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 13th | 44 |
| 2015/2016 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 29 | 36 | 36 | 13th | 5 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 17 | 14th | 43 |
| 2016/2017 | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 37 | 40 | 8th | 8 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 17 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 10th | 45 |
| 2017/2018 | 28 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 22 | 42 | 20 | 20th | 2 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 7 | ||
| Comparison of Equivalent Fixtures^ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| 2016/2017 | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 33 | 43 | 33 |
| 2016/2017 Results | Sunderland (H) | W | 2-0 | ||||
| Watford (A) | L | 0-2 | |||||
Results
| 2002/2003 | 23/02/2003 | West Ham United (H) | L | 1-2 | Dichio |
| 2004/2005 | 06/03/2005 | Birmingham City (H) | W | 2-0 | Clement, Campbell |
| 2005/2006 | 04/03/2006 | Chelsea (H) | L | 1-2 | Kanu |
| 2008/2009 | 03/03/2009 | Arsenal (H) | L | 1-3 | Brunt |
| 2010/2011 | 28/02/2011 | Stoke City (A) | D | 1-1 | Vela |
| 2011/2012 | 11/03/2012 | Manchester United (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2012/2013 | 02/03/2013 | Chelsea (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2013/2014 | 08/03/2014 | Manchester United (H) | L | 0-3 | |
| 2014/2015 | 03/03/2015 | Aston Villa (A) | L | 1-2 | Berahino |
| 2015/2016 | 01/03/2016 | Leicester City (A) | D | 2-2 | Rondón, Gardner |
| 2016/2017 | 11/03/2017 | Everton (A) | L | 0-3 | |
| 2017/2018 | 24/02/2018 | Huddersfield Town (H) | L | 1-2 | Dawson |
Next Matches
| 2002/2003 | 01/03/2003 | Southampton (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2004/2005 | 15/03/2005 | Chelsea (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2005/2006 | 11/03/2006 | Birmingham City (A) | D | 1-1 | Ellington |
| 2008/2009 | 16/03/2009 | West Ham United (A) | D | 0-0 | |
| 2010/2011 | 05/03/2011 | Birmingham City (A) | W | 3-1 | Mulumbu, Morrison, Scharner |
| 2011/2012 | 17/03/2012 | Wigan Athletic (A) | D | 1-1 | Scharner |
| 2012/2013 | 09/03/2013 | Swansea City (H) | W | 2-1 | Lukaku, De Guzman (o.g.) |
| 2013/2014 | 15/03/2014 | Swansea City (A) | W | 2-1 | Sessègnon, Mulumbu |
| 2014/2015 | 14/03/2015 | Stoke City (H) | W | 1-0 | Ideye |
| 2015/2016 | 06/03/2016 | Manchester United (H) | W | 1-0 | Rondón |
| 2016/2017 | 18/03/2017 | Arsenal (H) | W | 3-1 | Dawson (2), Robson-Kanu |
| 2017/2018 | 03/03/2018 | Watford (A) |
* Positions are recorded as Albion’s position in the Premier League table after all fixtures for that day have been completed.
^ Fixtures against promoted clubs are compared against fixtures against the relegated clubs from last season with the club finishing 1st in the Championship compared against the club finishing 18th in the Premier League, 2nd compared with 19th and the play-off winners compared against the club who finished bottom.
