Glimmer of hope for Baggies means tough test for Harry

Hope is a cruel beast and after a surprise win at Sunderland last Saturday it has come to nest at the Hawthorns for the first time this season. Tony Mowbray's struggling side are now just six points away from safety and have a glimmer of hope in their bid to retain their Premier League status.

The Baggies revival, if you can call it that, owes far more to do with the ineptitude of the teams directly above them than an upturn in their own results. Before the 3-0 victory against Sunderland last week West Brom had not won since beating Middlesbrough by the same margin on January 17. Not so much the Great Escape of 2005, rather the guards in the camp have taken a nap and given Mowbray and his men one final chance of salvation.

Yet last week's win and battling points against Portsmouth and Bolton have hinted that, despite what the pundits might think, West Brom are not going down without a fight and, with Middlesbrough facing Manchester United on Saturday and Newcastle set to make the trip to Anfield the following day, their trip to White Hart Lane gives them a chance to pull level of points with their two relegation rivals.

It is a remarkable turnaround for a side all but written off long before they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Stoke earlier this month. If the manner and significance of the defeat was hard for Baggies fans to take, the majority of them did not show it. Indeed the Albion faithful should be applauded for sticking by both the manager and the players who, perhaps a little naively at times, have stubbornly stuck by their attempt to pass their way to safety.

In Stoke they faced the antithesis of this approach and it must be galling for supporters to see Tony Pulis'side sitting in 12^th, with safety all but assured. Small solace might be taken that there slide toward the Championship has been significantly more respectable than last season's bottom club, Derby County, yet this is probably small consolation for fans of the perennial midlands yoyo club.

Yet they travel to North London with a renewed sense of hope and purpose, which is bad news for Harry and his players. With the season winding down and the jury out on whether qualifying for the Europa League is in the best interest of the club for clubs hopes of a top six finish, it might be the best time for West Brom to visit White Hart Lane.

Harry also has the unenviable task of rebuilding his players' spirits after the humiliating collapse at Old Trafford on Saturday. Although the catalyst was an appallingly unjust penalty decision, the manner of the disintegration which followed was alarming and brought back memories of similarly headless displays against Manchester City, when we were three nil up at half time and lost 4-3 and against United, where we led by the same margin and again conceded five goals in the second half.

However, we face West Brom in the security of White Hart Lane, where we have not conceded a league goal since James Beattie's consolation during a 3-1 victory against Stoke in January. Since then we kept out the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham and Redknapp will be hopeful of extending that run against a West Brom side who have scored just ten goals on their travels.

That said, their fans have seen five more home goals than those at the Lane this season. Thankfully a strong defence and confident goalkeeper allowed us to win games one-nil, but a tally of just 18 home goals, the third lowest in the league, gives Harry something to think about going into the new season.

Despite being fuelled by the chance to clamber three points away from safety, a West Brom victory looks unlikely. The midlands club have won just a single game away from home all season - a 1-0 win at the Riverside in September - and, despite winning the reverse fixture 2-0, Mowbray faces a more confident Spurs side than he did in December.

That defeat marked one of the low points in what has been an encouraging first six months in charge for Redknapp and he will be keen for his players to exact revenge. West Brom will pose a threat in the air and their five man midfield will be difficult to break down but ultimately their lack of firepower upfront will be probably be their undoing.

Prediction: Tottenham 2 West Brom 1

With Newcastle and Middlesbrough unlikely to pick up points, West Brom will not be any worse off if they fail to beat us on Saturday. It is a fantastic opportunity for them, so they will provide a stern test but, with Redknapp keen to quickly dispel the bitter taste of Old Trafford collapse, he will have his players fully motivated. Given our recent home record and West Brom's toothless attack, we should do enough to win and move closer to seventh.