West Brom hoping to right Boxing Day record against Arsenal
Albion will head to Arsenal on Boxing Day aiming to both upset the odds and deliver the kind of festive cheer which has recently remained elusive.
Christmas hasn't exactly been the season of goodwill for the Baggies who, if the statistics are to be believed, own the Premier League's poorest Boxing Day record.
Of their last 10 Boxing Day games in the top flight since promotion in 2002, Albion have won only one, a 2-1 victory away to QPR in 2012.
In the meantime, they have tasted defeat on no fewer than seven occasions – including the last two, conceding 14 goals in the process – with the 1-0 defeat at Swansea 12 months ago being one of the lowest points of the campaign.
Too often in recent years, Boxing Day has been a tale of woe for the Baggies, with the lowlights including the 3-1 home defeat to Manchester City in 2014, the limp showing at Bolton in 2010 and a 5-0 home thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in 2004.
A closer inspection of the record books, however, reveals some greater context and perhaps a few mitigating circumstances.
Albion have not exactly had the rub of the green when it comes to the fixture list. Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea and Manchester City (twice) have all been among their opponents over the 10-game stretch.
Neither is the recent trend representative of Albion's overall record since their first-ever Boxing Day league fixture, a 5-0 defeat to Preston North End during the inaugural 1888/89 campaign.
Since then, the Baggies have won more than they have lost.
Last season's fixture at the Liberty Stadium was the 100th time they have featured on Boxing Day.
Their overall record, ahead of next Monday's trip to the Emirates, stands at 43 wins, 22 draws and 35 defeats.
Recent highlights include a thumping 4-1 win at Bristol City during the 2007/08 promotion campaign under Tony Mowbray and a Nathan Ellington-inspired 4-2 triumph at Preston the previous year.
The history books also reveal some surprising statistics, particularly for those of a younger generation familiar with the modern complaints of 'fixture congestion".
Albion, remarkably, played on consecutive days as recently as the 1994/95 season, following up a Boxing Day home win over Millwall with a 2-1 defeat at Southend on the 27th.
The club's final Christmas Day fixture took place in 1956, when they defeated Newcastle United 1-0 at The Hawthorns, before suffering a 5-2 defeat 200 miles north in the return fixture 24 hours later.
What, you wonder, would a Premier League manager have to say about that now?
