Carlos Corberan will want his West Brom players to put the dramatic defeat they suffered at the hands of Leicester City last game immediately to one side, the Baggies yearning for three points to come their way against a now managerless Sunderland side this Saturday to bounce back.
The Baggies boss will be forced into using his full squad for the game against the Black Cats in a less-than-ideal situation, trusted first team winger Matt Phillips is definitely ruled out for the game at the weekend owing to a long-term injury whilst Jed Wallace’s availability remains up in the air.
On top of that, Corberan will also be without defensive midfielder Okay Yokuslu for the clash at the Stadium of Light – West Brom’s Turkish titan picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Leicester, meaning he will sit out this away game with a suspension.
This development comes at the worst possible time for the 29-year-old and his team, Yokuslu enjoying a purple patch recently for the Baggies before picking up a frankly needless fifth booking.
Okay Yokuslu’s season in numbers
This will be the first time the defensive midfielder has missed a game this season, on the pitch in some capacity in all of West Brom’s 19 games so far in the second tier.
The former Trabzonspor’s man absence will be felt, Yokuslu particularly impressive last month in tricky games against Southampton and Ipswich Town in his holding role in the starting eleven.
His role in the Ipswich win went under the radar, but he was crucial throughout the statement 2-0 win for Corberan’s side – winning six of his seven duels in the game, as per Sofascore.
Yokuslu could have even added a rare goal to his Baggies account against Kieran McKenna’s men, hitting his only effort wide in a contest that saw West Brom dominate.
The win was secured courtesy of their no-nonsense presence standing strong up against Ipswich’s flair players, the sort of presence that would be perfectly suited to the game against Sunderland when challenged with keeping tabs on skilful opposition players such as Dan Neil and Jack Clarke.
Jayson Molumby will more than likely come into the side to replace the suspended Yokuslu, however, hopeful of stepping up to the mark after an uninspiring season to date had seen him frozen out of Corberan’s first-team plans.
Jayson Molumby’s season in numbers
Once referred to by his manager as an “animal” in the centre of the park when performing at his best for the Baggies, the 24-year-old will be keen to offer energy and creativity alongside aggression from midfield against the Black Cats.
He’ll definitely be wanting to perform to a better standard than he did when he was substituted on against the Foxes, West Brom’s number eight winning just one of his four duels from a forgettable 15 minutes on the Hawthorns turf.
The Republic of Ireland senior international will instead want to tap into his excellent displays from earlier in the season and perform to that level again versus the Black Cats, Molumby starring in midfield against Millwall all the way back in August in what was the first home game of the campaign.
Molumby was measured and controlled in the middle of the pitch, only misplacing three passes all game in the otherwise drab 0-0 stalemate.
The Irishman will just hope he does enough against Sunderland to give Corberan a mini-selection dilemma when Yokuslu is free to be selected again, Molumby was one of the first names on the team sheet last season whilst this campaign he’s faded to a position on the substitutes’ bench.
Perhaps Saturday’s crunch clash could be a rare opportunity for the 5 foot 9 gem to grasp.
