Why Lewis Dobbin could be the difference-maker for Southampton at West Brom

Tonda Eckert has never lost to West Bromwich Albion as Southampton manager.

Hopefully, that trends continues tonight, as the Saints travel to face a West Brom team who will not be pushovers, with the Baggies one point above Eckert and Co. in the current Championship standings.

Truthfully, the German has only lost seven of his 46 Championship games in charge of the South Coast giants - so that Baggies record isn't that impressive - as he has come unstuck to the likes of Middlesbrough and Watford instead.

Yet, he will want to keep it that way when facing James Morrison's men at the Hawthorns.

His task is a made a little more difficult by the fact Cyle Larin is likely to miss another game through injury, meaning he will have to utilise Lewis Dobbin as his main centre-forward threat, again, who has blown and hot cold wearing Saints red and white this season.

Dobbin has had a lot of critics

Straight off the bat, there was always going to be a lot of pressure on Dobbin's shoulders when you consider his punchy £9m price-tag.

For a player who only had 12 Championship goals to his name when he joined, this did feel like a lot of money for the Saints to give up to land his services.

He did grab ten of those during the 2025/26 season, as he consistently bailed Preston North End out of sticky situations as their lead attacking force, with eight assists also falling into his back pocket come the end of the campaign.

Unfortunately, he hasn't quite been able to fit in at Southampton, as he's gone from being a leading man for a relegation-threatened team, to one small part of a promotion-chasing machine, despite costing the big bucks.

He has just one Championship goal to shout about from his opening 11 contests, but he has managed to show some signs of his ability in recent matches, as he scored the Saints' decisive third strike against West Ham United during their last clash on the road.

It was just a simple tap-in finish, but a goal is a goal at the end of the day, especially when you've been spurning chances previously.

Hopefully, he can grab another strike at the Hawthorns later on, with one stat suggesting that he loves to be a matchwinning presence, when his team is away from home comforts.

He could end up being a match winner

BBC Sport has compiled a list of some eye-catching stats involving the two promotion candidates.

One of them particularly sticks out regarding Dobbin, as across his last seven league away starts, he has managed to be involved in five goals hitting the back of the net, stretching back to his red-hot stint at Deepdale.

To break it down more, Dobbin has three goals and two assists under his belt across those seven league away starts, meaning he could end up being a difference-maker tonight, despite some grumbles about his wider Saints form.

Of course, one of these goal contributions came about at the London Stadium, with the £9m recruit ready to score another poacher's effort, if the ball falls kindly to him in the West Midlands.

In an ideal world, Saints fans would all much prefer Larin to be leading the line.

But, with the Brampton Bagsman remaining out of action, Dobbin will fancy his chances of being a match-winning hero for Eckert and Co.

To add an extra bit of spice to proceedings, the ex-Aston Villa forward also has prior Baggies connections, having once made 18 goalless appearances for them as an unconvincing loanee.

Could he come back to haunt West Brom as a late Halloween ghost?