The 2019-20 Championship season is set to resume this weekend and West Bromwich Albion, who are at the top of the league table, are scheduled to face Sheffield Wednesday.
Under the tutelage of Slaven Bilic, the Baggies have been stupendous in their endeavours as they have secured 33 points from their 16 league outings so far.
Impliedly, Bilic’s side will undoubtedly strive to secure all three points against Garry Monk’s troops at the Hawthorns to maintain their position at the summit.
West Bromwich Albion Team News
Nathan Ferguson was shown a direct red card in the 2-2 draw against Charlton Athletic last month and will be serving the third of his three-game suspension this weekend.
Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers were both handed their fifth yellow cards of the season in the previous league game and will, therefore, be unavailable for selection.
However, Gareth Barry, Kieran Gibbs and Chris Brunt played for their club’s reserve side earlier this week against Port Vale and are in contention to feature against the Owls.
Predicted West Brom Lineup vs Sheffield Wednesday (4-2-3-1)
Defence
Sam Johnstone is the undisputed first-choice custodian for the Throstles. He bagged a clean sheet against Hull City and is set to start in goal, as usual, this weekend in the West Brom lineup.
Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi have been resilient at the back for Albion and the central defensive pairing could be persisted with by Bilic once again.
Bartley, in particular, has been really impressive and is in a rich vein of form at the moment. He won 5 aerial duels and mustered 2 tackles against the Tigers in the previous game.
Meanwhile, full-backs Conor Townsend and Darnell Furlong could keep their place in the West Brom lineup given their prospering form.
Midfield
The absence of Sawyers and Livermore might hand an opportunity to Brunt and Rekeem Harper and the former’s experience could prove to be handy for Bilic’s side.
Matheus Pereira, having scored 3 goals and registered 6 assists in 14 league games, has been a lethal asset for Albion in the final third and is expected to start as the no.10.
Attack
Although Hal Robson-Kanu started upfront in the previous game for Albion, he might be replaced by Charlie Austin in the crunch match in the weekend.
Wingers Grady Diangana and Matt Phillips have been instrumental figures for their club in the final third and could get the nod to start once again in the West Brom lineup.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored