West Bromwich Albion will be aiming to pick up their second win in December when playing back at the Hawthorns up next after losing on the road to Watford.
The Baggies haven’t been at their best on their own patch this season, however, with just three victories coming their way from ten games in the Championship, as collecting a bumper six draws has often stopped them in their tracks from picking up a crucial three points.
Carlos Corberan will be anticipating a response from his side’s disappointing 2-1 loss to the Hornets though, with the Spaniard also eager for Josh Maja to break his goalscoring duck when Bristol City come to town today.
Maja’s form for West Brom
Maja will obviously be granted some slack for his current barren patch in front of goal, considering he has fired home ten strikes when at the top of his game in the tricky league, away from failing to find the back of the net during his side’s last five league encounters.
The former Sunderland attacker did attempt to create some openings for his teammates in the narrow loss at Vicarage Road though, with two key passes amassed, but zero shots on the Watford goal meant another game passed him by without a second-tier strike being buried.
Still, the 25-year-old cannot be written off against Liam Manning’s Robins, having averaged a Championship goal every 167 minutes this campaign, meaning his duck must be coming to an end soon.
He could be helped in the contest by Corberan switching up personnel in the middle of the park, with this creative machine perhaps reinstated into the XI over summer recruit Uros Racic.
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Mowatt’s performances this season
The player in question here is West Brom star Alex Mowatt, with the former Leeds United man having to settle for a place on the bench versus the Hornets last match.
He could find himself back in his manager’s first team plans for the test of the visitors from Bristol, however, as the 29-year-old impressed from off the substitutes bench late on last time out.
From just 25 minutes of action, Mowatt would muster up a hefty 43 touches of the ball, leading to 34 accurate passes being made and one key pass being tallied up.
In stark contrast, from his far superior 65-minute outing, Racic would only manage three more accurate passes, with Mowatt also boasting some impressive numbers across the entire season away from this slender defeat to Tom Cleverley’s men to justify his inclusion later today.
|
Mowatt’s league numbers for West Brom (24/25) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat – per 90 mins* |
Mowatt |
|
Games played |
21 |
|
Games started |
19 |
|
Goals scored |
4 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Touches* |
74.9 |
|
Accurate passes* |
56.3 (90%) |
|
Ball recoveries* |
4.6 |
|
Total duels won* |
3.6 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
All in all, it’s been a very positive season for Mowatt so far, with the entertaining Baggies number 27 helping himself to four goals and an assist in the Championship.
But, Corberan also likes the bite his dependable midfielder can give his side centrally, as can be seen in his ball recovery and duels won numbers above, with the Spaniard even referring to Mowatt as a “warrior” in the past.
After all, the experienced star did score this delightful first-time strike when West Brom last played at home to secure a 2-0 victory over Coventry City, meaning it could well be likely his manager shuffles his pack to reintroduce him back into the first team fold.
His constant ability to try and fashion an opening – away from any other standout attributes – could also be a needed boost to a misfiring Maja, as the promotion candidates strive to pick up a win before the hectic Christmas fixture schedule truly kicks in.
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