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West Bromwich Albion are experiencing an up-and-down run of form in the Championship at present, unable to find consistency with a win, a loss and a draw in their last three matches.
Carlos Corberan‘s Baggies do still find themselves in a strong position in the league regardless of their patchy recent form, occupying fifth position in the division with promotion aspirations still at the forefront of their minds.
The West Midlands outfit will hope that potentially picking a victory away at Middlesbrough tomorrow can kickstart a sequence of results that sees them consolidate their playoff spot further, putting recent poor displays firmly to one side.
Corberan could change his lineup slightly for the trip to the Riverside Stadium, with Grady Diangana one of two players who could drop out, following the recent draw with Stoke City.
1
GK – Alex Palmer
Corberan will stick by his number one goalkeeper Alex Palmer for the game away at Boro, despite the Baggies keeper making an uncharacteristic error against Stoke.
Palmer was caught out by a Lynden Gooch cross somehow looping over his head against the Potters into the back of the net, but won’t be dropped despite this lapse in concentration owing to the Baggies number 24 picking up ten clean sheets this season in the league.
2
RB – Darnell Furlong
Darnell Furlong will also remain in Corberan’s lineup for the game versus Michael Carrick’s side this Saturday, the dependable right-back excellent versus the Potters with six of his seven ground duels won.
3
CB – Kyle Bartley
Kyle Bartley will also be retained for the tricky away match at the Riverside, dominant in the air against Stoke with seven of his nine aerial duels won.
When Bartley has played this season, the 32-year-old has helped his team pick up eight clean sheets. Can he add a ninth to his season tally tomorrow?
4
CB – Cedric Kipre
Cedric Kipre is the next component of an unchanged defence, the 27-year-old coming into his own this season after finding himself on the periphery at the Hawthorns in the not-so-distant past.
The imposing defender was rock solid versus Stoke once more, making a combined five interceptions and tackles whilst rarely wasting a pass out from the back by losing possession just six times.
5
LB – Conor Townsend
Conor Townsend is the last part of the settled Baggies back four, the 30-year-old important in shutting out Stoke after their fortuitous opener.
Townsend was 100% successful with all of his duels in the draw, a tough nut to crack alongside similarly resolute defenders at the Hawthorns.
6
CM – Jayson Molumby
The first change Corberan could make to his lineup for the trip to Boro is swapping out Okay Yokuslu for Jayson Molumby, giving the Irishman another opportunity at the expense of his usually reliable number 35.
Yokuslu wasn’t at his best against Stoke, winning just two duels in the contest in a weak display from the midfielder.
Bringing Molumby into the side could give the Baggies an injection of energy to steer the Championship club to three points, the West Brom number eight needing to impress to reinvigorate his stuttering career at the Hawthorns before it fizzles out further down the line.
7
CM – Alex Mowatt
Alex Mowatt will more than likely start even if his midfield partner Yokuslu does face the chop by Corberan, the former Leeds United midfielder quiet but involved in many passages of play from a holding role versus Stoke.
Mowatt would only misplace four of his passes all game against the Potters, amassing one key pass for his efforts.
8
RM – Tom Fellows
With Grady Diangana continuing to blow hot and cold for the Baggies in recent matches, Corberan could look to start exciting youngster Tom Fellows in his place in a bid to shake up West Brom going forward.
Diangana was notably below-par in the draw against Stoke last match, hauled off by his manager on the 71st-minute mark after losing possession 16 times in the contest to the potential detriment of his side.
Fellows could benefit from the Baggies number 11 continuing to put in uninspiring shifts, highly rated at the West Midlands club with Darren Byfield – who had a part to play in Fellows’ development at Crawley Town when the 20-year-old was loaned out to the League Two outfit – also describing Fellows’ ability as “unbelievable.”
Further described as a “get-off-your-seat” style figure by Byfield in more glowing praise, the young winger will hope he can fill in adequately for an out-of-sorts Diangana if picked and be an explosive presence.
9
CAM – Jed Wallace
Played down the flanks and up top this season, Jed Wallace has also been used just behind the lone striker in a central attacking position too.
The experienced EFL figure enjoyed playing in this role last game, accumulating three key passes in the contest to try and help his team pick up a second goal to go on and claim a win.
The 29-year-old has notched up three assists as the main creative spark for Corberan’s men this season, hopeful of adding a fourth to his tally against Michael Carrick’s side at the weekend.
10
LM – Jeremy Sarmiento
Jeremy Sarmiento is loving life with West Brom at the moment, getting plenty of game time in the West Midlands owing to first-team regular Matt Phillips being out with a serious hamstring injury.
The Brighton loanee’s wonder strike away at Cardiff City in November is still the standout moment from his Baggies stint to date, but the tricky South American winger was lively against Stoke last time out too.
Firing five efforts at Jack Bonham’s goal in total – Sarmiento unafraid to test the Stoke keeper as a gung-ho attacker – the 21-year-old will hope he can find the back of the net away at the Riverside to add another strike to his Baggies account in the second tier.
11
ST – Brandon Thomas-Asante
Brandon Thomas-Asante is a guaranteed starter for this match, Corberan’s men experiencing somewhat of an injury crisis up top with backup options Daryl Dike and Josh Maja both sidelined leaving Thomas-Asante as the only fit option.
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Thomas-Asante would have probably started regardless of Dike and Maja being available anyway, the 25-year-old forward netting two goals in his last three games which included a smart finish against Stoke.
West Brom predicted lineup vs Middlesbrough in full – GK: Palmer; RB – Furlong, CB – Bartley, CB – Kipre, LB – Townsend; CM – Molumby, CM – Mowatt; RM – Fellows, CAM – Wallace, LM – Sarmiento; ST – Thomas-Asante
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