West Brom set for mega away following as pivotal Championship fixture sells out

Albion will be joined by a packed-out away end at Coventry City as all 3,000 tickets have been sold for the Good Friday trip to the CBS Arena.

It’s billed to be an absolute cracker of a Midlands derby as Coventry are now surprise direct rivals in the race for play-off football. The Sky Blues looked set for a disappointing season at the opposite end of the standings but have enjoyed an incredible resurgence under new manager Frank Lampard, rising to fifth and two points ahead of the Baggies.

By the time the Baggies make the trip to Coventry, there could be even more riding on the fixture, which is the fourth to last of the campaign. West Brom must first play Sunderland, Bristol City and Watford before they can even think about taking on the Sky Blues.

The recent 1-0 defeat to Norwich City was significant as it not only kept the Canaries in the play-off race but it also allowed Middlesbrough to move within just goal difference of Albion, just like Bristol. Watford, meanwhile, are four points behind and the likes of Norwich, Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday are still within a five-point reach.

Thankfully for Tony Mowbray’s side, the away contingent will be in fine voice at Coventry. They certainly need to be, too, as Lampard’s men have won each of their last four Championship home matches, including a thumping 3-0 victory over automatic promotion outside hopefuls Sunderland.

West Brom fume at ridiculous Coventry demand

Selling out an allocation of 3,000 seats may not sound like too difficult a task considering the magnitude of the fixture and how nearby it is, but there was quite an uproar about the pricing of tickets. Coventry demanded £37 per adult, 23 per cent more than the £30 West Brom charged the away fans in the reverse fixture at The Hawthorns. Young adults and seniors, meanwhile, were asked to pay £32, with under-18 tickets priced at £25.

There was a wave of anger from the West Brom perspective, both at supporter and club level. Birmingham World understands the Baggies appealed for Coventry to reconsider and limit their prices at £30, however the request was promptly rejected.

Some fans called for a boycott - and understandably so - but the game is so important and West Brom need as big of a following as possible.

Albion must repeat Sky Blues trick

As much as the current run of just one win in the last five Championship outings won’t fill fans with confidence, some hope can be taken from the last time the Baggies faced Coventry.

It was just Lampard’s third game and he had enjoyed an unbeaten start beforehand, drawing 2-2 with Cardiff City before winning 1-0 away at Millwall; at the time both opponents were direct rivals in a potential relegation fight.

West Brom upset the apple cart, however, as Lampard tasted defeat for the first time as Sky Blues boss. Goals from Alex Mowatt and Karlan Grant were enough to seal all three points for the Baggies as Coventry, despite having more efforts on goal, failed to break down Albion’s low block.

Of course, Carlos Corberan was still in charge at the time, but the two squads are more or less the same now as they were then. If anything, and as much as it may not feel like it considering the goalscoring struggles of late, Albion now have better attacking options than they did back in December.

In other news, a former West Brom player has completed a surprising transfer to a Championship club.