West Brom are set to host Middlesbrough at the Hawthorns in their next Championship fixture on Saturday.
Having picked up 50 points from 28 games so far, the Baggies are currently fourth in the league standings and are three points ahead of Tony Pulis’ side.
While the home side have been absolutely good in terms of offensive productivity, Pulis’ side have been robust.
Both the teams are in contention for promotion to the Premier League and therefore, the fixture promises to be an exciting one.
Darren Moore will have three new loan signings available to use; Jacob Murphy, Jefferson Montero and Stefan Johansen.
Jake Livermore is back in contention after a four-match suspension. However, James Morrison and Matt Phillips remain sidelined owing to their ankle injuries.
Defence
Sam Johnstone is expected to start in goal and is a regular in the West Brom lineup. Ahmed Hegazy and Craig Dawson have been resilient at the heart of the defence and should keep their place.
After 24 outings in the Championship, Hegazy averages 1.3 tackles, 6.4 clearances and 1.3 blocks per game, and will be an instrumental player at the back for the team.
Kieran Gibbs and Mason Holgate could start as the full-backs. The two have to get forward whenever possible to stretch the Middlesbrough defence.
Midfield
Rekeem Harper deserves to keep his place in the starting lineup, and he should be paired up with Livermore in the central midfield.
Harper is still pretty much a newbie, and is progressing well with every passing game. However, there is a lot of competition in the squad and Harper can’t afford to drop his performance levels.
Gareth Barry could play in the deeper midfield role to protect the backline and dictate the tempo of the game as well.
Attack
Jay Rodriguez has been in good form this season, having plundered 14 goals and three assists in 28 league games and might lead the line against the Riversiders.
New signing Murphy might start on the right flank. Early on, Murphy needs to use his pace and dribbling ability to good effect and leave a mark to get the fans behind him.
Hal Robson-Kanu, with his experience, will come in handy for the Baggies in the business end of the season and is expected to start on the left flank.
Statistics Credits: Whoscored
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