West Bromwich Albion will be looking to continue their incredible recent form when they take on Preston North End at the Hawthorns on Thursday evening.
New manager bounces are to be expected but few would have predicted that Carlos Corberan would have such an incredible impact with the Baggies, winning six of his seven league games in charge of the club since taking over from Steve Bruce, who had left the Midlands club languishing in the relegation places.
After a late defeat against Coventry City, the Baggies bounced back with a promising 2-0 win against Bristol City on Boxing Day but with games coming thick and fast, changes are still likely for the game against playoff contenders Preston on Thursday.
Here is how Football FanCast expects Corberan to line his side up this evening, with three changes from the team that started at Ashton Gate last time out.
After another clean sheet last time out, Alex Palmer deservedly keeps his spot in between the sticks against Preston.
For the same reason, Corberan looks unlikely to make any changes in his defence, with the record of two goals conceded in the last seven games speaking for itself, so Darnell Furlong and Conor Townsend continuing at full-back, with Dara O’Shea and Erik Pieters in the middle.
Corberan has preferred a midfield duo of Jason Molumby and Okay Yokuslu in recent fixtures and he looks unlikely to break that partnership up as he looks to continue the Baggies’ resurgence in the second tier.
However, with the game being West Brom’s second in just four days, changes in the final third seem likely.
Tom Rogic came off the bench to provide the assist for Brandon Thomas-Asante’s brilliant goal against Bristol City, so he gets the nod in attacking midfield ahead of John Swift.
Jed Wallace keeps his place on the right wing but Grady Diangana could be handed a start on the left-hand side, with Matt Phillips earning a rest after his goal on Monday.
Finally, the “unbelievable” Daryl Dike, as labelled by former manager Valerian Ismael, should not be risked when considering his less-than-impressive injury record, so Thomas-Asante earns a start after his phenomenal chip against the Robins.
