West Bromwich Albion are in Sky Bet Championship action for the final time this season as they take on Preston North End at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
Still with a job to do as play-off qualification is not yet secured, the Baggies will be eager to end the campaign on a high. Carlos Corberan needs a response from his players to earn the required points as the last three outings have ended in defeat, the most recent of which was the disappointing 3-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday.
West Brom are boosted by the form of the visitors as Preston have lost four matches on the bounce and have very little to play for, other than pride. Confidence can also be taken from the reverse fixture as goals from Darnell Furlong, Alex Mowatt, Matt Phillips and Kyle Bartley secured a comfortable 4-0 win at Deepdale in September.
Nonetheless, plenty of respect must be shown to the campaign’s final opponents and Corberan is bound to start as strong of a lineup as possible. That’s especially the case with so much on the line for Albion’s play-off ambitions.
With that in mind, including the dropping of a disappointing midfielder and the addition of a tenacious attacker, here’s the West Brom starting XI we predict will take on Preston.
1. GK - Alex Palmer
Palmer had an unusually poor game at Hillsborough but he’ll be keen to bounce back this weekend. He’s been excellent all season.
2. RB - Darnell Furlong
Furlong, relied upon at both ends of the field this campaign, has locked down the right-back spot. Summer loan signing Pipa has hardly had a look-in.
3. CB - Cedric Kipre
Kipre was another to struggle last weekend but the Ivorian has been one of Albion’s players of the season. He simply has to start whenever available.
4. CB - Kyle Bartley
Bartley has become Kipre’s regular centre-back partner and that’s expected to continue for this final fixture.