After just two seasons in the Championship, West Brom are back in the big time as head coach Slaven Bilic guided them to second place at the end of a tumultuous campaign.
The Baggies were in the top two for most of the season, but New Year jitters put their Premier League dreams in serious jeopardy before a late rally secured top flight status without having to go through the lottery of the playoffs.
Relegation in 2018 ended an eight-year stay in the first tier, which in turn saw the end of a period to when the Baggies bounced up and down between Premier League and Championship.
Bilic knows he has a big job on to keep his side away from relegation this time around and the preseason Premier League 2020 betting odds will likely back them for the drop.
But at least one of the three promoted teams usually makes it to a second season, so why not West Bromwich Albion?
Keep an eye out for the odds as they appear on the SBOBET site, the Baggies might well be good value for some surprise wins.
Promotion by a whisker
After a grueling campaign of 46 league games and an FA Cup run, West Brom finally won promotion on the last day of the season – with a margin of two points over third placed Brentford.
For much of the season, the Baggies and Leeds United were streets ahead of the pack, but a phenomenal run by the Bees coincided with both West Brom and Leeds stuttering.
But with Brentford losing away to Barnsley — a result which preserved the Tykes’ Championship status — a 2-2 draw with QPR was enough to win the Baggies’ promotion.
This season, West Brom are going to come up against some of the best players in the world so they need to strengthen.
They recruited well in 2019 with the standout buy being Brazilian winger Matheus Pereira. The 24-year-old quickly became one of the most exciting talents in the second tier and he could give fullbacks in the Premier League a torrid time.
Pereira was at his best in a 5-1 rout over promotion hopefuls Swansea in December, scoring one and making four assists en route to the sixth win in succession that took the Baggies to the top of the table.
But the New Year blip allowed the chasing pack to close the gap, until the dramatic results on the last day had West Brom fans bouncing once again.
Bilic has a point to prove
Having missed out on promotion at the first attempt in 2018/19 finishing fourth, West Brom moved to replace popular boss Darren Moore with the experienced Slaven Bilic.
The former Croatia manager had been biding his time and impressing as a TV pundit.
Next season, he will come up against former club West Ham United who were embroiled in a relegation battle in the 2019/20 campaign, though the Hammers were safe before they played out a final game 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
Having managed West Ham between 2015 and 2017, Bilic renewed his acquaintance in the FA Cup last season with West Brom having beaten Championship Club Charlton in the third round.
The Baggies ran out 1-0 winners against the Hammers thanks to a Conor Townsend strike and that will have put a broad smile on their manager’s face.
Despite being a popular manager at West Ham, Bilic was sacked after a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in November 2017 as the owners said that the club needed a change in direction.
Well, he left the team with a record of 1.33 points per Premier League game which is the best of any previous West Ham manager, and the owners certainly found a new direction which very nearly led them to the Championship!
He didn’t have any managerial experience in England’s second tier but Bilic certainly has Premier League credentials and he brings with him a handful of players with Premier League experience.
Striker Hal Robson Kanu and Charlie Austin both had successful spells in the top flight, so as wide man Kamil Grosicki and 6-foot-4 defender Ahmed Hegazi.
Influential midfield man Jake Livermore played for the Spurs and won seven England caps and he can thrive again at the top table, but Bilic will look to bring in new blood.
He’ll have kept a close eye on the Premier League 2020 news while the Baggies strived to reach their goal, and he may look to the relegated clubs for possible recruits.
Known as the champions of the top-flight in 1920, it is fitting that West Brom are back in the Premier League a century later.
However, only time will tell on whether they can stay there for more than one season.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
