West Brom vs Plymouth Prediction: Back the Baggies bounce to continue

Heading into the weekend, West Bromwich Albion sit top of the EFL Championship standings as one of just three undefeated sides after the first five games. Watford and Sunderland both have the opportunity to leapfrog the Baggies in their lunchtime kick-offs on Saturday, but irrespective of the Hornets and Black Cats' results, Carlos Corberan's charges can ensure they end the day in first with a victory over Plymouth Argyle at The Hawthorns (15:00).

Read below for my West Brom vs Plymouth prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Daryl Dike remains West Brom's only major injury absentee, with an Achilles issue keeping the American striker sidelined since February, and he is not expected to return until the end of the calendar year.

Corberan is yet to make a change to his starting XI in the Championship this season and could name the same side for the sixth game running on Saturday following their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Mikey Johnston, Jed Wallace and Grady Diangana are among those looking to force their way into the lineup, but Corberan is likely to stick with a winning formula this weekend.

Football Odds

Conor Hazard started the season between the sticks for Plymouth but underwent ankle surgery earlier this month and isn't expected back until December at the earliest, so Daniel Grimshaw will line up in goal again on Saturday after making his debut in last weekend's 3-2 victory over Sunderland.

Frederick Issaka missed that win against the Black Cats through suspension but is available for selection again after serving a three-game ban for his red card in last month's 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers.

West Brom vs Plymouth Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main West Brom vs Plymouth page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Albion are heavy favourites heading into this clash, with odds of 2/5 giving the Baggies an implied win probability of 71.4%, while Plymouth are 13/2, or a 13.3% chance, to claim their first away victory under Wayne Rooney.

The sides played out a goalless draw at The Hawthorns last October and another stalemate on Saturday is priced at 4/1, while a repeat of the scoreline is 14/1.

Both teams to score is available at 4/5 and over 2.5 total goals at 4/7, while West Brom's Josh Maja (21/20) and Plymouth's Morgan Whittaker (16/5) are considered their teams' most likely anytime scorers.

To Win to Nil - West Brom @ 7/5

West Brom have been in rampant form away from home, scoring eight times across three games - all of which they have won - but in two home matches, Corberan's side have only scored once, drawing 0-0 with Leeds United at The Hawthorns on August 17 and beating Swansea City 1-0 two weeks later.

Albion didn't concede in either contest, though, and will be confident of recording a third clean sheet against Plymouth, who were thrashed 4-0 by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on the opening weekend of the season before playing out a 1-1 draw with QPR at Loftus Road 13 days later.

The Pilgrims have lost on the road to another Championship team, Watford, who beat Rooney's charges 2-0 in the Carabao Cup on August 27, meaning the Devonshire outfit haven't won away from home since a 1-0 victory at Rotherham United - now a League 1 team - on April 5.

Plymouth have shown signs of improvement under Rooney, who was appointed as head coach in the summer, with last weekend's win against Sunderland particularly impressive as they ended the Black Cats' 100 per cent start.

However, a trip to The Hawthorns is a daunting prospect for a side that has struggled on their travels, and with Albion recording three shutouts in their last four matches, breaching the hosts' backline could prove a tricky task.

A West Brom win to nil looks the best bet on Saturday.

Correct Score - West Brom 2-0 @ 13/2

My second selection for Saturday's game sees me try to nail down a correct scoreline, which usually offers a rewarding price given the difficulties attached to it.

In my first pick, I have explained why I believe West Brom will win to nil, so that saves me explaining the Plymouth side of this correct scoreline selection, but there is still the Albion element to discuss.

WBA are yet to win 2-0 this term but they won by that scoreline seven times last season, five of which occurred at The Hawthorns, while Plymouth were beaten by two goals to nil on four occasions in 2023/24 and once already in 2024/25, at Watford in the Carabao Cup.

Plymouth were thrashed at Sheffield Wednesday in their opening Championship game but conceded exactly once in their next three league outings before Sunderland scored twice past them last Saturday.

I can see the hosts taking a lead into half-time this weekend and adding another shortly after the interval before slowing things down and being content to take a 2-0 win.

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