Switch article view:Match preview West Brom aim to keep up momentum against in-form Sunderland
By Julian Shea.
Kick off Saturday 25 February 2012 at 15:00, The Hawthorns.
Back and chest problems mean that West Brom striker Shane Long has not started a game since 1 January - and he could find himself watching from the sidelines again on Saturday as the Baggies try to follow up their memorable 5-1 drubbing of neighbours Wolves.
Marc-Antoine Fortune is likely to keep his starting place up front, with Peter Odemwingie may be deployed wide right again after his fine hat-trick from that position against Wolves.
Paul Scharner suffered a rib injury last time out and is unlikely to feature, so Keith Andrews could be handed his first start after coming on to score against Wolves.
Chris Brunt is on the mend after a broken foot, but will not be fit in time to be involved in this game.
Martin O'Neill's in-form Sunderland will fancy their chances against the team with the worst home record and worst home scoring record in the Premier League.
Their lengthy injury list is also finally starting to clear - David Vaughan (ankle) is back in training but not yet fit, but Matt Kilgallon hopes to start on the bench.
On-loan striker Nicklas Bendtner should be available to start after recovering from a facial injury, and having been ineligible to play against parent side Arsenal last time.
Fellow loanees Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who were also unable to play last week, are also back in contention.
Defenders Wes Brown (knee) and Titus Bramble (Achilles/calf) remain long-term casualties.Listen to our football experts Russ Williams, Jim Proudfoot and Ian Wright for a look ahead to the weekend's games in Friday's edition of Ian Wright's podcast.
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