West Bromwich Albion suffered a 2-1 defeat this past weekend in their opening Championship game against Bolton Wanderers and need to bounce back immediately. Darren Moore’s side will have the chance to do something about their disappointing defeat tomorrow as they face Nottingham Forest.
Considering that the Tricky Trees are one of the sides vying for promotion, it’s going to be another tough outing for Moore’s side.
West Bromwich Albion Team News
Salomon Rondon was kept out of the side for the game against Bolton Wanderers. The forward has completed his move to Newcastle United, so that’s a blow Moore will have to deal with. Dwight Gayle offers more pace to the team but it’s unlikely he’ll start tomorrow after being signed a few hours ago in what was a loan-swap.
Here is how we expect Moore to roll out his starting XI against Aitor Karanka’s men.
PREDICTED WEST BROMWICH ALBION LINE-UP VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-4-1-1)
Goalkeeper
Sam Johnstone is expected to start in goal. Although the custodian had a decent debut for his new side against Bolton, he could have done better to deny Yannick Wildschut from finding the back of the net.
Defence
Kyle Bartley and Ahmed Hegazy are likely to start in the central defence. Both of them are no-nonsense defenders and will have to be wary of Forest’s threat. While Allan Nyom is expected to start as the right-back slot, Kieran Gibbs is expected to keep his place on the other side.
Midfield
We expect Matt Phillips to operate as the right winger, with Harvey Barnes likely to start from the left wing. Barnes scored a wonderful goal in the last league fixture and made some notable defensive contributions as well.
Jake Livermore and Gareth Barry are expected to feature in central midfield and their experience should come in handy for the Baggies. They possess good work-rate and Barry’s distribution will be key when his side will try to break forward on the counter.
Attack
Hal Robson-Kanu struggled to make his presence felt up top and he is likely to be replaced by Jay Rodriguez, with Chris Brunt expected to be moved further up the pitch. It won’t be easy to breach Nottingham Forest’s back line but Rodriguez does have the ability to take on a player and beat him for pace.
