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West Brom begin their 2019-20 EFL Championship campaign on Saturday against a Nottingham Forest side coming off their best showing in six years.
In the United States, the match starts at 12:30 p.m. ET. It won’t be televised on regular TV in the US, but you can watch the match via ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of multiple Championship matches per week, other live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries, and additional original content all for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch Nottingham Forest vs West Brom live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Nottingham Forest vs West Brom Preview
West Brom placed fourth in their 2018-19 EFL Championship campaign, then fell in the first round of the play-offs to eventual promotees Aston Villa via penalties. They scored 87 goals during the regular season, the second-highest figure behind that of titlists Norwich City.
In June, the Baggies hired Slaven Bilić to replace caretaker manager James Shan, who’d taken over for the sacked Darren Moore.
The former Croatia international helmed West Ham in the Premier League for two-plus seasons, but has yet to manage in the Championship.
“The boys have been fantastic so far, on the pitch and off the pitch, and that’s one of the reasons I like it here and I’m positive before the start of the season,” Bilić said, according to the official West Brom website.
“I’m excited because the season is starting and you want to find out how you’ve been doing. It’s not all about the first game but it’s starting now and every game counts. There are three points for every game so we want to start well.
“The start is very important, I’m excited, of course, this is a club I knew I was coming to. It’s a massive club and a great opportunity for me. It’s a great privilege but also a big obligation to do well because this club means a lot to the community.”
Bilić won’t be the only head coach making his Championship debut. This offseason, Nottingham Forest tabbed former Rennes and Ivory Coast manager Sabri Lamouchi to steer the club on the pitch.
“It is a marathon league,” the former France international said, according to The Guardian. “There are a lot of games, a lot of intensity and sometimes the teams are not so compact but some finishes in the games are incredible. You can be winning 2-0 five minutes before the end and lose the game 3-2. Only in the Championship this can happen. The old people that know football, they told me that you will enjoy [it] but it is the worst league in the world — the most difficult, the most intense, but you will take pleasure. They said: ‘Just be ready and not tired.’”
Forest placed ninth on the Championship table a season ago, their best finish since they took sixth in 2010-11. They conceded 54 goals, the fifth-fewest in the league.
On Thursday, the Tricky Trees signed Mali defensive midfielder Samba Sow following his two-season run with Dynamo Moscow.
“The club has given me a big opportunity, they trust me and when people trust you, you just want to give back this confidence,” Lamouchi said, per The Guardian. “For you [the media] it’s a big pressure but my job is pressure all the time, every day, every week.”