Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit David Prutton issues exciting West Brom prediction | OneFootball

The Baggies currently occupy the final play-off place in the Championship after their draw at Elland Road

Sky Sports EFL pundit David Prutton believes Tony Mowbray can get his West Bromwich Albion side into the Championship play-offs this season, with Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United testament to their ability.

Darnell Furlong’s equaliser cancelled out Junior Firpo’s opener in the draw at Elland Road at the weekend, leaving Albion clinging on to the fourth and final spot in the top six with eleven league games remaining of the season.

A superior goal difference sees the Baggies oust Blackburn Rovers into seventh as it stands, while a whole host of clubs will fancy their chances of elongating their season come May, with seven teams separated by five points as things begin to hot up in the second tier.

Despite that, Prutton believes Albion have what it takes to keep themselves in to the top six for the second successive season, with Mowbray’s return to the fold helping them steady the ship after Carlos Corberan’s departure.

Tony Mowbray backed for West Bromwich Albion play-off push

The draw with Leeds showed a resilience in the Baggies side that will be needed over the next couple of months, as the target on their back shows no signs of going away in the battle for the play-off spots.

A run of just four league wins in the 13 matches since Corberan’s departure has seen a comfortable spot within the top six become increasingly unstable as the season has progressed, although Mowbray has lost just three of his nine matches in charge since returning to the Hawthorns in January.

After his well-documented health struggles, Prutton is delighted to see the 61-year-old back in the dugout this season, and believes the former Middlesbrough boss will be able to draw upon plenty of experience to get his side over the line and into the end-of-lottery in the coming months.

When asked if Albion can finish in the top six, Prutton said exclusively to Football League World: “Yes, of course they can. Firstly, Tony Mowbray has got pedigree with getting teams promoted. I think, first and foremost, it is great to see him back in the thick of it, and I am mentioning that now given I have a fondness for him personally and professionally.

“Being in the position where you can sink yourself into what football is, which is the day-to-day training players, bringing new players on, relying on experience, and putting a team together to go on and compete at the very top, shows exactly what he can do.

“Against the current top four they are currently unbeaten, which given historically West Brom’s standing within the Premier League might sound like I’m giving them faint praise, but I’m not.

“They went to Elland Road and had a way of playing. They came away with a deserved point and on another day they may have gone on to take all three points.”

Leeds United evidence proves West Bromwich Albion’s play-off credentials

As Prutton eluded to, Albion are unbeaten against the top four in the division right now, but are still winless against them too, with all six meetings against the promotion candidates ending in a draw this season.

That will come as no surprise to anyone following the second tier this season, with a run of ten Baggies matches out of eleven seeing the points shared between October and December, with Corberan’s side proving a hard nut to crack before his pre-Christmas departure for Valencia.

Mowbray has carried on that mantle in the new year, and a resilient performance at Elland Road last time out proved they can mix it with the best in the division, with a well-fought encounter ending with a point apiece.

Having added Adam Armstrong and Will Lankshear as options up top in the winter transfer window, the Black Country side are well-stocked in terms of attacking personnel for the remainder of the campaign, with Prutton believing that factor, as well as the experience in the squad, could be the difference as the need for positive results intensifies.

He continued: “They were very much up for the battle at Elland Road, and they do have the ability in their players to finish off teams.

“Josh Maja is very much one that jumps out, the welcome return of Daryl Dike was lovely to see, and given the makeup of the side, given the experience they have got - when you start with Kyle Bartley and work forward - you are talking about a side that got into the play-off semi-finals last season in a very different manner with Carlos Corberan.

“I like that ability to be stubborn in games with that creative flourish that we all know that Tony knows and loves, I think absolutely they can finish in the play-offs.”