Chris Brunt recorded his first victory as caretaker boss with what was an ultimately comfortable 3-1 home win over Preston North End. It was in the Baggies’ eighth home game of the season in late November that they scored their third Hawthorns goal of season – in this match, they managed three inside 40 minutes, the first time this season that they have scored three times in one half. They are yet to score more than three goals in any match in the current campaign.
Josh Maja’s double ended his eight-match barren run and takes him to twelve goals for the season, three behind the division’s leading scorer, Borja Sainz. Callum Styles’ first goal for Albion was his first since he scored for Barnsley in a 3-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in October 2023, and it makes him the tenth player to score for the Baggies this season.
Preston’s goal brings the total number of goals conceded to 20 goals in 25 games, a tally that has only been bettered by three previous Albion teams – the record is held by Fred Everiss’s 1908/09 side that had conceded just 15 goals at this stage, while Don Howe’s 1974/75 team (18 goals) and Valérien Ismaël’s 2021/22 side (19 goals) also had a better record at this stage.
The club record for a 46-game second tier campaign is held by Gary Megson’s 2001/02 team that let in just 29 goals for the entire season, although they had conceded 21 after 25 games. The fewest conceded by any team in a second tier season since it moved to 24 teams in 1988 is 28 goals by Sunderland in 1998/99 – that team had let in 16 goals in the first 25 games, the same as Leeds United and Sheffield United in the current campaign, although Burnley have let in just 9 goals so are currently on track to smash that record.
| 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 | |
| 1988/1989 | 25 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 43 | 23 | 44 | 2nd | 8 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 9 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 9th | 72 |
| 1989/1990 | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 42 | 29 | 16th | 4 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 13 | 20th | 51 |
| 1990/1991 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 29 | 34 | 27 | 18th | 4 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 23 | 9 | 23rd | 48 |
| 1993/1994 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 42 | 25 | 20th | 5 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 19 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 23 | 5 | 21st | 51 |
| 1994/1995 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 32 | 30 | 17th | 8 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 19th | 58 |
| 1995/1996 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 28 | 41 | 25 | 21st | 5 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 8 | 11th | 60 |
| 1996/1997 | 25 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 42 | 40 | 33 | 11th | 3 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 16th | 57 |
| 1997/1998 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 24 | 41 | 6th | 8 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 10th | 61 |
| 1998/1999 | 25 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 46 | 42 | 37 | 10th | 8 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 20 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 22 | 13 | 12th | 59 |
| 1999/2000 | 25 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 24 | 30 | 27 | 18th | 2 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 21st | 49 |
| 2000/2001 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 29 | 44 | 5th | 8 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 6th | 74 |
| 2001/2002 | 25 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 21 | 43 | 5th | 7 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 20 | 2nd | 89 |
| 2003/2004 | 25 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 36 | 22 | 46 | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 12 | 23 | 2nd | 86 |
| 2006/2007 | 25 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 45 | 28 | 40 | 6th | 9 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 10 | 29 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 18 | 11 | 4th | 76 |
| 2007/2008 | 25 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 56 | 29 | 47 | 1st | 9 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 11 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 17 | 1st | 81 |
| 2009/2010 | 25 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 27 | 46 | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 14 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 13 | 23 | 2nd | 91 |
| 2018/2019 | 25 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 32 | 46 | 3rd | 7 | 4 | 2 | 32 | 17 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 15 | 21 | 4th | 80 |
| 2019/2020 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 27 | 51 | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 18 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 9 | 28 | 2nd | 83 |
| 2021/2022 | 25 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 31 | 19 | 42 | 4th | 7 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 10th | 67 |
| 2022/2023 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | 26 | 35 | 9th | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 9th | 66 |
| 2023/2024 | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 36 | 23 | 42 | 5th | 8 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 5th | 75 |
| 2024/2025 | 25 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 31 | 20 | 39 | 6th | 5 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 18 | ||
| * Positions are recorded as Albion’s position in the table after all fixtures for that day have been completed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Results
| 1988/1989 | 14/01/1989 | Watford (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 1989/1990 | 01/01/1990 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | W | 3-0 | Robson, Bartlett, West |
| 1990/1991 | 12/01/1991 | Ipswich Town (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 1993/1994 | 12/01/1994 | Leicester City (A) | L | 2-4 | Strodder, Mellon |
| 1994/1995 | 31/12/1994 | Bolton Wanderers (H) | W | 1-0 | Hunt |
| 1995/1996 | 13/01/1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) | D | 0-0 | |
| 1996/1997 | 28/12/1996 | Queen’s Park Rangers (H) | W | 4-1 | Sneekes, Smith, Hunt, Peschisolido |
| 1997/1998 | 28/12/1997 | Stoke City (H) | D | 1-1 | Hunt |
| 1998/1999 | 26/12/1998 | Port Vale (H) | W | 3-2 | Murphy, Bortolazzi, Hughes (pen) |
| 1999/2000 | 28/12/1999 | Bolton Wanderers (A) | D | 1-1 | Burgess |
| 2000/2001 | 26/12/2000 | Sheffield United (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2001/2002 | 22/12/2001 | Sheffield Wednesday (H) | D | 1-1 | Fox |
| 2003/2004 | 26/12/2003 | Derby County (H) | D | 1-1 | Gaardsøe |
| 2006/2007 | 26/12/2006 | Preston North End (H) | W | 4-2 | Koumas, Kamara, Ellington (2) |
| 2007/2008 | 29/12/2007 | Scunthorpe United (H) | W | 5-0 | Phillips (2), Koren, Gera, Beattie |
| 2009/2010 | 18/01/2010 | Newcastle United (A) | D | 2-2 | Olsson, Bednár |
| 2018/2019 | 29/12/2018 | Sheffield Wednesday (H) | D | 1-1 | Jones (o.g.) |
| 2019/2020 | 29/12/2019 | Middlesbrough (H) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2021/2022 | 02/01/2022 | Cardiff City (H) | D | 1-1 | Robinson |
| 2022/2023 | 29/12/2022 | Preston North End (H) | W | 2-0 | Yokuslu (2) |
| 2023/2024 | 29/12/2023 | Leeds United (H) | W | 1-0 | Diangana |
| 2024/2025 | 01/01/2025 | Preston North End (H) | W | 3-1 | Maja (2), Styles |
Next Matches
| 1988/1989 | 21/01/1989 | Leicester City (H) | D | 1-1 | Robson |
| 1989/1990 | 13/01/1990 | Port Vale (H) | L | 2-3 | Goodman, Ford |
| 1990/1991 | 19/01/1991 | Oxford United (H) | W | 2-0 | Bannister, Shakespeare |
| 1993/1994 | 15/01/1994 | Peterborough United (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 1994/1995 | 02/01/1995 | Derby County (A) | D | 1-1 | Hamilton |
| 1995/1996 | 20/01/1996 | Charlton Athletic (A) | L | 1-4 | Hunt (pen) |
| 1996/1997 | 01/01/1997 | Tranmere Rovers (H) | L | 1-2 | Burgess |
| 1997/1998 | 09/01/1998 | Tranmere Rovers (A) | D | 0-0 | |
| 1998/1999 | 28/12/1998 | Crystal Palace (A) | D | 1-1 | Hughes |
| 1999/2000 | 03/01/2000 | Barnsley (H) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2000/2001 | 30/12/2000 | Bolton Wanderers (A) | W | 1-0 | Roberts |
| 2001/2002 | 26/12/2001 | Manchester City (A) | D | 0-0 | |
| 2003/2004 | 30/12/2003 | Wimbledon (A) | D | 0-0 | |
| 2006/2007 | 30/12/2006 | Ipswich Town (H) | W | 2-0 | Kamara, Koumas |
| 2007/2008 | 01/01/2008 | Ipswich Town (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2009/2010 | 26/01/2010 | Ipswich Town (A) | D | 1-1 | Brunt |
| 2018/2019 | 01/01/2019 | Blackburn Rovers (A) | L | 1-2 | Rodriguez (pen) |
| 2019/2020 | 01/01/2020 | Leeds United (H) | D | 1-1 | Ajayi |
| 2021/2022 | 15/01/2022 | Queen’s Park Rangers (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2022/2023 | 02/01/2023 | Reading (H) | W | 1-0 | Dike |
| 2023/2024 | 01/01/2024 | Swansea City (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2024/2025 | 04/01/2025 | Swansea City (A) |
