West Bromwich Albion will be relieved to return to home soil as they take on Wigan Athletic in the Championship on Tuesday evening. Albion’s woeful away form continued on Friday as they were well beaten by Hull City, with a powerful strike from Benjamin Tetteh and a Dara O’Shea own goal sealing a 2-0 defeat.
Last week’s disappointment made it four away losses in a row for The Baggies, who are slipping away from the play-off spots. Fortunes have been far greater at The Hawthorns, however, with seven wins in West Brom’s last eight home matches and just one goal conceded in that period.
Carlos Corberan will be eager to close the gap to the top six with two home matches in a row against relegation-threatened opposition. First up is of course Wigan, who are 23rd in the league standings. There has been somewhat of an improvement under new head coach Shaun Maloney, with seven points out of a possible 18, but they are six points from safety as it stands.
The Latics do have a game in hand, however, and they’ll no doubt be looking at West Brom’s recent struggles with optimism. Wigan will also take confidence from The Baggies’ injury concerns, with nine players expected to miss the game. With that in mind, we think Corberan will take the clash very seriously, naming a strong side. Here is our predicted Albion XI.
9. CAM: John Swift
One of the better players in the 2-0 loss as he hit the post with a free-kick and created plenty in the opening half an hour or so. | Getty Images
10. RW: Jed Wallace
Works best out on the right flank as he can whip deliveries into the penalty area for Albion’s striker. | Getty Images
11. LW: Marc Albrighton
Needs some confidence following a few poor showings. Playing in his familiar left wing position against Wigan could provide that boost. | Getty Images
12. ST: Daryl Dike
Not clinical enough against Hull but was getting in all the right positions. Corberan will be hoping Dike can replicate what he did at home to Middlesbrough. | Getty Images