How many points West Brom need to survive and finish above Blackburn and Oxford - according to Opta

West Bromwich Albion have been in freefall in recent weeks and months and are staring a potential relegation to League One in the face if they cannot turn things around quickly.

The Baggies are currently sat in 20th place in the second tier, just a single point above bottom three, with Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers, Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday below them at present. Eric Ramsay came in to replace the sacked Ryan Mason but the job at hand has proven too much for the former Minnesota United boss to handle so far, with zero wins and just two points from his five league matches in charge, and some tough fixtures on the horizon.

We had a look at how many points West Brom could need to finish above their rivals and survive relegation according to Opta, as the games begin to run out and the situation looks increasingly worrying.

How many points will West Brom need to survive relegation this season?

According to Opta’s latest predictions, West Brom will finish in 21st place come the end of the season and survive relegation by the skin of their teeth. The latest supercomputer has the Baggies ending the season on 50.88 points.

This is marginally ahead of Blackburn on 49.02, with managerless Rovers predicted to make the tough drop to League One, alongside Oxford on 45.82 points and Wednesday on the rather generous predicted total of 5.37 points.

This is shaping up to be a high-bar relegation battle and that is reflected in Opta’s predictions. Last season, Hull City survived on goal difference with 49 points as Luton Town went down on the final day, while 51 points were required the season prior as Birmingham City were relegated with 50.

That was one of only two occasions in the last 10 years where 50 points were required to survive in the Championship. The other came in 2016/17, when Nottingham Forest stayed up on goal difference with 51, at the expense of Blackburn.

The highest-ever points total in Championship history to be relegated since the competition’s inception in 2004/05 was Peterborough United’s 54 in 2012/13, as Barnsley only just stayed up with 55. Peterborough also hold the joint-record for the lowest number of points to be relegated in 22nd place, with 37 in 2021/22. Historically, it takes around 44 points to survive in the Championship on average.

West Brom predicted by Opta to stay up in Championship

According to Opta’s predictions, West Brom will pick up 17 more points and survive for another year in the Championship – but only just. Baggies fans will be hoping for somewhat of a smoother ride to safety but after a run of two league wins in 13 matches dating back to late November, they will take any upturn in form at present.

Thankfully for the West Midlands outfit, they are not the only club in freefall at present as Oxford, Blackburn and Leicester are also finding wins hard to come by, the latter pair of clubs also without a permanent manager at present. But if Opta’s predictions are to be believed, they will all put up a significant fight in the final months of the season to make it tense for the sides above them.

West Brom have spent just two seasons in the third tier of English football in their 148-year history – coming in 1991/92 and 1992/93 – and the West Midlands giants will hope to avoid a minor disaster with relegation this term. They have 15 matches left to save themselves.