The Baggies did everything but score against Everton, but the club record winless run goes on now standing at 18 Premier League games, 19 overall.
In the Great Escape season, game 20 was considered a turning point as Albion managed to come away from what was then the City of Manchester Stadium with a 1-1 draw despite not having a shot on target all game. It was that little bit of luck that this season’s Baggies have failed to get so far.
Game 21 has not been a good one for the Baggies, but in all but one of the eleven seasons so far, it has taken place in January which is, historically, Albion’s poorest month in terms of results. The only game 21 win came in Tony Pulis’s first league game in charge three seasons ago, a 1-0 win over Hull City.
Albion have won the final game of the year in the last two seasons, however, a 1-0 win over Newcastle thanks to a Berahino goal (remember those?) in 2015 and a 2-1 win at Southampton last year thanks to a screamer from Hal Robson-Kanu.
Because of the tradition of playing on New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve fixtures are fairly rare. Last season’s win at Saints was also on New Year’s Eve, with Albion’s only other Premier League fixture on the very last day of the year being a 1-0 defeat at Anfield in 2005. Before that, you have to go back to 1994 for a match on 31st December when Albion beat Bolton 1-0 at the Hawthorns thanks to a goal from Andy Hunt.
One of the more memorable New Year’s Eve fixtures came in 1988 when Albion came within minutes of winning at Stamford Bridge in a Division Two top-of-the-table clash – Colin Anderson had given the Baggies a first half lead only for Graham Roberts to equalise with a controversial last minute penalty.
| Home | Away | Season End | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn* | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn | Pts | |
| 2002/2003 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 31 | 16 | 19th | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 4 | 19th | 26 |
| 2004/2005 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 42 | 11 | 20th | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 4 | 17th | 34 |
| 2005/2006 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 29 | 19 | 17th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 19th | 30 |
| 2008/2009 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 16 | 35 | 18 | 20th | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 4 | 20th | 32 |
| 2010/2011 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 22 | 14th | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 21 | 8 | 11th | 47 |
| 2011/2012 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 28 | 22 | 15th | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 10th | 47 |
| 2012/2013 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 28 | 25 | 33 | 7th | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 11 | 8th | 49 |
| 2013/2014 | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 23 | 27 | 21 | 14th | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 17th | 36 |
| 2014/2015 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 18 | 17th | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 13th | 44 |
| 2015/2016 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 26 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 14th | 43 |
| 2016/2017 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 28 | 24 | 29 | 8th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 10th | 45 |
| 2017/2018 | 20 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 27 | 15 | 19th | 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 6 | ||
| Comparison of Equivalent Fixtures^ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| 2016/2017 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 25 | 32 | 25 |
| 2016/2017 Results | Everton (H) | L | 1-2 | ||||
| Arsenal (H) | W | 3-1 | |||||
Results
| 2002/2003 | 26/12/2002 | Arsenal (H) | L | 1-2 | Dichio |
| 2004/2005 | 28/12/2004 | Manchester City (A) | D | 1-1 | Dunne (o.g.) |
| 2005/2006 | 31/12/2005 | Liverpool (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2008/2009 | 28/12/2008 | Tottenham Hotspur (H) | W | 2-0 | Bednar, Beattie |
| 2010/2011 | 01/01/2011 | Manchester United (H) | L | 1-2 | Morrison |
| 2011/2012 | 03/01/2012 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2012/2013 | 29/12/2012 | Manchester United (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2013/2014 | 01/01/2014 | Newcastle United (H) | W | 1-0 | Berahino (pen) |
| 2014/2015 | 01/01/2015 | West Ham United (A) | D | 1-1 | Berahino |
| 2015/2016 | 02/01/2016 | Stoke City (H) | W | 2-1 | Sessègnon, Evans |
| 2016/2017 | 02/01/2017 | Hull City (H) | W | 3-1 | Brunt, McAuley, Morrison |
| 2017/2018 | 26/12/2017 | Everton (H) | D | 0-0 |
Next Matches
| 2002/2003 | 28/12/2002 | Charlton Athletic (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2004/2005 | 01/01/2005 | Bolton Wanderers (A) | D | 1-1 | Gera |
| 2005/2006 | 02/01/2006 | Aston Villa (H) | L | 1-2 | Watson |
| 2008/2009 | 10/01/2009 | Aston Villa (A) | L | 1-2 | Morrison |
| 2010/2011 | 04/01/2011 | Fulham (A) | L | 0-3 | |
| 2011/2012 | 14/01/2012 | Norwich City (H) | L | 1-2 | Long (pen) |
| 2012/2013 | 01/01/2013 | Fulham (H) | L | 1-2 | Lukaku |
| 2013/2014 | 11/01/2014 | Southampton (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2014/2015 | 10/01/2015 | Hull City (H) | W | 1-0 | Berahino |
| 2015/2016 | 13/01/2016 | Chelsea (A) | D | 2-2 | Gardner, McClean |
| 2016/2017 | 14/01/2017 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | L | 0-4 | |
| 2017/2018 | 31/12/2017 | Arsenal (H) |
* Positions are recorded as Albion’s position in the Premier League table after all fixtures for that day have been completed.
^ Fixtures against promoted clubs are compared against fixtures against the relegated clubs from last season with the club finishing 1st in the Championship compared against the club finishing 18th in the Premier League, 2nd compared with 19th and the play-off winners compared against the club who finished bottom.