West Bromwich Albion return to The Hawthorns on Wednesday evening as they take on fellow playoff hopefuls Blackburn Rovers in the Sky Bet Championship. Carlos Corberan’s side will need to kick on and lick their wounds from a painful 2-0 defeat to local rivals Birmingham City last time out.
Two calamitous errors from goalkeeper David Button and an all-round disappointing display led to Birmingham completing a league double over the Baggies for the first time since 1999. Albion remain in good form with three wins in their previous five games, though, and they will be hopeful they can put last week’s performance behind them.
Blackburn, who were right near the top of the playoff places just a few games ago, have slumped down to eighth, above West Brom by a single point. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men have won just one of their last five, drawing their last three. Rovers’ bizarre record of not sharing points seems to have caught up with them as these three draws are their first of the season.
Wednesday’s clash is nothing short of a six-pointer in the top six race, so Corberan will have to pick his starting 11 very carefully. With that in mind, here is the lineup we think the Spaniard will go with, in a 4-2-3-1 formation. See below.
9. RW: Marc Albrighton
Corberan is likely to keep starting Albrighton as his technique is definitely of a top division level. He had a great debut vs Coventry. | Getty Images
10. LW: Grady Diangana
With Matt Phillips still sidelined, Diangana has a clear path to dominate the left wing spot. Needs to build on his consistency, however. | Getty Images
11. ST: Brandon Thomas-Asante
Although Corberan has been pushing on with Daryl Dike for a few games, we think BTA’s energy is needed against a shaky Blackburn defence. | Getty Images