West Bromwich Albion play host to Sheffield United on Saturday as supporters welcome new manager Carlos Corberan to the Hawthorns for the first time. The Baggies will be hoping to get off to a decent start with the Spaniard in the dugout, eager to bounce back after a 2-1 defeat away at Millwall last weekend.
Kyle Bartley was sent off in that game, adding further insult to injury as Tyler Burey scored a late 90th-minute winner for the hosts. Corberan won’t have had long with his new squad of players having only joined on Tuesday evening, but he’ll be keen to give off a good impression - and immediately put right plenty of wrongs.
Currently in the Championship relegation zone after a dismal start to the campaign, West Brom will likely see quite a few changes to team selections under the new head coach. One positive is that Saturday’s opposition, despite being potential title contenders, have had a poor run of results with three defeats in their last five.
It could be a good opportunity for Corberan to get some early backing from supporters - and he will likely make a shift in formation right away. With Huddersfield Town last term, Corberan often went back to basics with a 4-4-2 formation and it proved effective as they largely overachieved, reaching the playoff final.
With that in mind, here is how we think his first line-up will look like - with changes a plenty from West Brom’s defeat in east London.
9. LM - Grady Diangana
Injecting some space on the left hand side is likely to be Diangana, who has been a threat to teams at times. Corberan will be keen to get some consistency out of the winger - as he started the campaign well but has dropped off somewhat since. | Getty Images
10. ST - Karlan Grant
West Brom’s equal top league scorer in 2022/23 with three, Grant will be eager to add to his tally and end a goal drought under the new boss. He hasn’t scored since Albion drew 1-1 away at Wigan in August - but now has the chance for a fresh start. | Getty Images
11. ST - Brandon Thomas-Asante
One of the main downfalls of Bruce’s reign - as sounded out consistently by Baggies supporters - was his stubbornness to continue with a one-up-top formation. Under Corberan this is likely to be different, so Thomas-Asante could join Grant in attack. | Getty Images