New role for £500k signing as Carlos Corberan hands defender first start - West Brom predicted XI vs Cardiff

West Brom are without a win in five Championship games but remain in the top four following Wednesday’s 0-0 draw away at Blackburn Rovers.

Defeats haven’t often been the issue as Carlos Corberan’s men have lost just twice this season but far too many games are being drawn. Goalscoring has become a real problem, too, with just one netted in the four outings throughout October.

Albion have been fairly solid defensively, at least, but Corberan may be tempted to switch things up at full-back to provide a little more width for attacks.

With Kyle Bartley set to miss out through injury, this could be the perfect time to move Torbjorn Heggem into his more comfortable centre-half position. That could perhaps mean a first start to Gianluca Frabotta, a more mobile left-back who could cause problems on the overlap.

That said, great respect must be shown to Cardiff City as the Bluebirds have won their last two matches comfortably, beating Plymouth Argyle 5-0 before brushing Portsmouth aside 2-0. Interim boss Omer Riza has done a superb job to take Cardiff out of the relegation zone and the Welsh side could be a threat this weekend.

West Brom predicted XI vs Cardiff

GK - Alex Palmer: The goalkeeper has started the new season strongly, picking up where he left off last term. Palmer has six clean sheets so far in 2024/25.

RB - Darnell Furlong: Locked in at right-back, Furlong is one of the first names on the team sheet. Nobody is challenging him for this slot at the moment.

CB - Semi Ajayi: The Nigerian has started every league game so far. Mason Holgate will be knocking on the door at some stage but it’s Ajayi’s place to lose.

CB - Torbjorn Heggem: The £500k signing could move across to central defence while Kyle Bartley and Holgate recover from their respective fitness woes.

LB - Gianluca Frabotta: Yet to start in the Championship, Frabotta could get the nod at left-back if Heggem does indeed switch roles.

CM - Uros Racic: The Sassuolo loanee, valued at around £2 million by the Italian club, has proved he can be the resolution to West Brom’s poor creative output.

CM - Alex Mowatt: One of Corberan’s personal favourites, Mowatt has been the preferred choice in the number eight role for a long time now.

RW - Tom Fellows: The England Under-21 international hasn’t scored or assisted a goal in four games but he remains one of Albion’s most impactful players.

LW - Karlan Grant: Given a fresh start this season, Grant has thrown everything into every game. He’s netted twice so far but offers more than just goal involvements.

CAM - John Swift: The playmaker has been benched in the last three fixtures but could come back in as Grady Diangana has failed to impress.

ST - Josh Maja: With seven goals in his first seven games, Maja started superbly. He’s no longer firing but he’ll be more desperate than anyone to end the drought.