West Brom striker Salomón Rondón (R) competes for the ball against Crystal Palace's Andros Townsend. (Photo : Getty Images)
Last season's middling clubs West Bromwich Albion FC (1-0-0, 3 points) and Everton FC (0-0-1, 1 point) are set to clash at the Hawthorns on Saturday, August 20 as the second week of the 2016-2017 Premier League season moves on.
West Brom, who finished at 14th place at the end of last term, is coming off a 1-0 nipping of Crystal Palace FC on the road at the Selhurst Park last Saturday, SkySports reported.
Venezuelan striker Salomón Rondón provided the winning goal of the match with a brilliant header off substitute midfielder James McClean's corner kick at the 74th minute after a grueling first half where both sides were unable to pierce each other's net.
Head coach Tony Pulis, who retained his managerial position with the Baggies after the recent Chinese ownership takeover, was said to be quite pleased that his team began the season with a victory.
The Eagles almost pulled off an equalizer during stoppage time, but new-signing Andros Townsend's free kick was shot wide to give away the win to West Brom.
Meanwhile, Everton settled for a 1-1 draw with powerhouse squad Tottenham Hotspur at their home field of Goodison Park also last Saturday, as per Daily Mail Online.
Toffees midfielder Ross Barkley opened the scoring right at the fifth minute and the team was able to keep the one-point lead until the halftime break to give new manager Ronald Koeman's side the chance to open his official Everton domestic top flight debut with a win.
However, Spurs winger Erik Lamela found the equalizer one minute before the hour mark with a header that cancelled Barkley's goal, salvaging the draw for the visitors and gave each team a share of a point in the overall standings.
Everton finished last term at the 11th spot in the league table, which prompted the club to sack then head coach Roberto Martinez at season's end. Koeman was then signed from Southampton in June.
It would be a close match for the two teams, but the home team is favored to prevail in this one with another great game from Rondón.
The predicted result is a 1-0 win for West Brom.
West Brom starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Foster; Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Evans; Phillips, Fletcher, Yacob, Gardner; Rondón, Berahino
Everton starting lineup (3-4-3 formation): Stekelenburg; Holgate, Jagielka, Funes Mori; McCarthy, Gueye, Barry, Baines; Barkley, Deulofeu, Mirallas
