Six-pointer could be key to Albion survival

A draw at St James's Park would see little change in the current mood, while victory would catapult Tony Pulis' men past the 30-point-mark, more than 10 clear of the bottom three and set fair for a comfortable end to the season.

Defeat would, by contrast, further decrease the breathing room in the bottom third of the Premier League and send another shiver down the collective spine of a fanbase which has begun to get increasingly twitchy.

Yet while performances have been disappointing, results have remained steady and to this point Albion have found themselves on the right side of the fine margins.

Wins over Newcastle and Stoke, both earned by late goals, helped preserve a cushion which was since been increased by home draws with Villa and Swansea – games which could have easily yielded no points at all.

Salomon Rondon's stoppage-time leveller against the Swans on Tuesday could well be looked back on as a significant moment.

"It was a big goal," admits Baggies keeper Ben Foster. "The point was very important for us but it also stopped other teams gaining on us.

"For a team like Swansea, when you're winning until the 92nd minute and someone scores an equaliser in the last minute, it's so disheartening. You saw Norwich last week against Liverpool and everybody said they did well to fight until the end.

"But to lose a goal like that in the very last seconds is so disheartening and takes so much wind out of your sails and you see they lost 3-0 against Tottenham and maybe suffered for it.

"Things like that, people don't realise, but they really do affect you sometimes.

"We came away the happier team."

Judging Albion right now very much depends on which set of statistics you choose. While the optimist will point to a run of just one defeat in the last nine, the cynic quickly notices three of those games came against lower league opposition and included the failure to see off Bristol City and Peterborough at the first attempt.

It has been a familiar tale during a season which looks set to deliver the stability lacking over the past two campaigns but has to this point been painfully short on thrills. Pulis's team are effective but tough to love, something Foster feels has at times clouded perceptions of their progress.

"Look at a team like Palace, apparently they've had a really great season so far but we're only two points behind them," he said.

"If we can get three or four points from our next two games things will be looking better.

"In all honesty we probably need another four or five wins to be safe this season. We're more than capable of doing that."

The goalkeeper agrees with Pulis's view that Albion need to start converting their chances, after squandering several opportunities to go in front against the Swans.

"We created a whole lot of chances against Swansea, we just need to be more clinical," he said.

"That's what the gaffer said to us after the game. We didn't put our chances away."

Trips to Tyneside have not always been fruitful for Albion, who have won just once at St James's Park in the league since 1977.

The fixture does tend to guarantee goals, however, with the last goal-less draw back in September 1959.

Injuries to Jonny Evans (hamstring) and Chris Brunt (calf) will force Pulis into a defensive reshuffle, though it remains unclear just what the head coach will decide.

Sebastien Pocognoli is presently the Baggies only fit left-back but has been largely frozen out under Pulis and has never started a Premier League game under the Welshman. James McClean and James Chester are both potential emergency left-backs.