Against my better judgement...

I have decided to go to tomorrow's F A Cup tie against West Brom at the Valley against my better judgement (my Wife is none too pleased as she has cancelled the baby-sitter and now has no option). I have done so because I believe Alan Pardew will give a couple of debuts and because we should see an attacking formation. No-one wants a replay.

The strong hints are that Moutaouakil and Youga will play and I am also keen not to miss the much vaunted debut of Chris Dickson, although I suspect he may only get on as a sub. If he doesn't, the only conclusion we can draw is that he was brought back from the Gills as injury cover for Iwelumo, Varney or McLeod. This would be very disappointing, especially as he looks to be off to the African Cup of Nations after tomorrow.

On paper this looks like a relatively straightforward West Brom victory but our home form tends to indicate that we manage the opposite from what's expected and we are more than capable of throwing a surprise. Whilst West Brom have looked best-placed to win the title, their away form is a little shaky and if we get at them we can cause them problems. Additionally, there's every chance Tony Mowbray might field a weakened side.

The other reason I have decided to go is because I am off to Scotland for a couple of weeks and won't see another live match (I'll get Watford on Sky) until 26th, if we're in the 4th round, or 29th when we entertain Stoke in the second of the "six-pointers" we face in the second-half of the season.

Team I'd like to see tomorrow; Weaver (or Randolph), Youga, Fortune, Bougherra, Moutaouakil, Thomas, Holland (or Racon), Semedo, Sam, Varney and Dickson. Subs; Iwelumo, Mcleod, Zheng Zhi, McCarthy, Randolph (or Weaver).

My guess is that the attendance will be well south of 20,000 in spite of a decent Baggies support. I don't think they will sellout the away end (they will for the league game). I'll shoot for 16, 500. I can also see us going down to a late goal after a much improved performance, although I live in hope.