Geoff Horsfield has predicted that both Aston Villa and West Brom will remain in the fight for promotion right until the end of the season ahead of the two sides playing each other in a West Midlands derby on Friday night.
Darren Moore’s side will go into the game at The Hawthorns third in the Championship table and four points ahead of eighth-placed Villa and Horsfield claims that the Baggies have the stronger set of players this season.
Even though it has been a rocky start to the season for the Villains, the ex-Birmingham striker believes that Dean Smith will be able to guide his side up the table, relying on Premier League-quality players like Jack Grealish, Albert Adomah and Yannick Bolasie.
“West Brom have the stronger squad if I’m brutally honest and if you look at it, Villa have got to be there,” he said in a video on the Birmingham Live website.
“They’ve got players, you look at Jack Grealish, you look at the Adomahs, the Bolasies, they are good, top quality Premier League players.
“I think they will both be up there.”
OPINION
From a former West Brom and Birmingham player, that is a good compliment by Horsfield. The 45-year-old played in a lot of West Midlands derbies during his time with both Albion and Blues, playing against Villa for both sides multiple times. If anyone is suited to talking about Friday’s game at The Hawthorns then it is him. It should be a really exciting game to watch. They are the two top-scoring sides in the Championship but both have them have also been poor defensively this term, so judging by the stats, we are in for a cracker. West Brom suffered a blow going into the game, having been told that they had to play Brentford on Monday, just four days before a Friday clash with Villa. They conceded a late equaliser against the Bees in a game they should have easily won, so it will be interesting to see how Moore and his men respond to that.