West Bromwich Albion are back in Sky Bet Championship action on Friday evening as they head away to local rivals Birmingham City. Carlos Corberan will be keen to celebrate his contract extension with a positive result, especially with the added importance attributed to the clash.
The Baggies soared back into the top six with a narrow 1-0 win over Coventry City last time out, as Corberan’s men defended well to hold on to an early lead. Grady Diangana tapped the ball home at the far post within the opening 15 minutes, converting a dangerous long throw from Darnell Furlong.
That particular result put an end to a short rut for West Brom as they had lost their two games previous. Albion’s unfortunate 2-1 defeat at Burnley was followed by a truly off day out at Bristol City, as the home side progressed to the FA Cup fourth round with a 3-0 win.
Birmingham, meanwhile, bounced back from a run of five straight Championship losses with some last-gasp drama at Swansea City last weekend. Ending up 4-3 victors, Lukas Jutkiewicz’s 90th-minute equaliser and Auston Trusty’s 97th-minute winner sent the away end into a frenzy.
Blues will take confidence from that as well as the fact they have a fully fit squad to select from for the first time this season, as revealed by head coach John Eustace on Wednesday. It certainly will not be an easy game for West Brom on Friday.
With that in mind, here is the starting XI we think Corberan will go with, in a 4-2-3-1 formation. See below.
1. GK: David Button
The experienced goalkeeper stays in the team with number one choice Alex Palmer expected out for around six weeks.
2. RB: Darnell Furlong
It was Furlong’s long throw that caught out Coventry and helped West Brom to a narrow win last time out.
3. CB: Dara O’Shea
Was arguably the Baggies’ best player in the 1-0 win against Coventry City with a sublime defensive display.
4. CB: Erik Pieters
Even with Semi Ajayi back fit again, Pieters keeps his spot as he has formed a good bond with O’Shea in central defence.