West Brom vs Bristol City: Albion must shake off Blues showing
They say the sign of a good team is one that picks up points while playing poorly.
But that is only true if those bonus points are backed up by big victories and re-assuring performances afterwards.
Albion were fortunate to escape St Andrew’s with a 1-1 draw last Friday, but now they must bounce back with the benefit of home comforts.
The Baggies have won their last four home games in all competitions, but they welcome the in-form side of the Championship to The Hawthorns tonight. It won’t be easy, by any stretch.
Against Blues, Darren Moore’s men should have paid the price for their insistence on playing out from the back, or rather, misplacing passes at the back.
Although Moore’s intentions are admirable, and the shift to a 3-4-1-2 formation has improved results, it is not without its weaknesses.
He insists he will not dogmatically stick to it, and he says he does have a Plan B up his sleeve.
“I’m quite adaptable with it really,” insisted Moore. “I won’t say I’m sticking with that one, it’s a shape and system that has worked [so far].
“Will I stay with it for the rest of the season? No.
“I’ll chop and change how I deem fit with different fixtures that do come up, because I think you have to in this division.”
The concern is that Albion do not have the personnel capable of playing this way every time, and it’s delivering mixed results.
For every QPR and Stoke, there is a Middlesbrough or a Blues..
However, Moore is likely to persist with the system for now – and so he should – but with six games in the next 19 days, this is an obvious chance to give his squad players a chance.
Gareth Barry had a positive impact at St Andrew’s, and Moore called him an ‘intelligent player’, but he didn’t give away any clues whether he would start tonight.
“There’s enough time for that starting XI to recover and go again on Tuesday evening if we wanted to,” he said.
Bringing Barry in would require resting Jake Livermore or Chris Brunt, but Moore insists he has no qualms leaving his skipper out.
“Everybody here knows we are in a tough, gruelling Championship campaign,” he said. “Everybody knows that at some point and at some time the squad will be called upon, and that’s why everybody has to be ready.
“Chris is no different, even as captain. He understands the situation, we’ve got a team here.
“The individuals make up the team and everybody’s vying for points, whether they’re in the team or not.
“One week you may not be in the team, next week you might be, the squad has to support that player in the team. Chris is a valuable player for us whether he’s in the team or out of the team, he has his part to play along with everybody.”
Albion’s home form may be impressive, but they are winless from three evening games in the Championship so far.
In order to combat that, Moore has moved training beforehand to the evening in an effort to acclimatise his team.
Kieran Gibbs pulled out of the Blues game with illness, and will be assessed ahead of tonight’s match. If passed fit, he will replace Conor Townsend at left wing-back.
James Morrison is back in training and will also face a late fitness test, but new signing Wes Hoolahan is more likely to make the bench and could be in line for his debut. Whatever team Moore settles on, it needs to perform better than it did in Birmingham.
The Opposition: In-form Robins are flying up the league
Bristol City arrive at The Hawthorns as the form team of the Championship following four wins on the bounce.
After a stuttering start to the season yielded just two points from the opening three games, the run has shot the Robins up into third.
Lee Johnson was one of the candidates Albion contemplated last season following Alan Pardew’s long overdue departure.
Although Johnson did not make it to the final stages of the process, he seems to be proving why he was initially coveted.
Tonight, the Robins have a chance of winning five games in a row for the first time since 2009.
City fans are cock-a-hoop with the start to the season because a number of obstacles have been successfully negotiated.
Famara Diedhiou made his first start of the season on Saturday following a six-game ban for spitting, and Frank Fielding, Korey Smith and Hakeeb Adelekun have all been injured.
The Robins sold their three best players in the summer, including Bobby Reid, who joined Cardiff City instead of the Baggies and have started the season with a completely new back five.
Wise recruitment, sound stewardship from Johnson, and a bit of luck has seen the side from Ashton Gate lose just one of their first seven Championship games.
But Johnson is refusing to get carried away because City finished 11th after losing just one of their opening 12 league games last season.
“It’s early days and we’ve been here before, haven’t we?” he said. “The key is that it’s a new team and that we’re performing week-in-week-out and the depth is getting stronger.
“Last year we were unfortunate with quite a few injuries. This year we’ve got injuries and a strong bench, that’s a positive.
“Defence is strong, that’s three clean sheets from four and that’s got to be our backbone.
“You see the Championship and it’s crazy. A lot of the bottom teams have picked up some good results and it’s amazing for us to have gone four wins on the spin.
“You can only dream of that sort of form given that it’s a brand new team.
“We haven’t really been behind a lot yet and that’ll be the test. Can we react when going behind? How do we react to a loss? At the moment, we’ll ride the momentum.”
City have been playing 4-4-2 this season but they tried 3-5-2 for the first time on Saturday in their 1-0 win over Sheffield Untied so Johnson could be tempted to match Albion up.
On-loan Chelsea centre-back Tomas Kalas is a key presence at the back while former Villa and Wolves forward Andreas Weimann is a waspish leader of the line.
Defenders Eros Pisano (ankle) and Bailey Wright (thigh) are injury doubts, as is attacker Mo Eisa (ankle).
Likely Line-up:
Subs: Myhill (gk), Adarabioyo, Brunt, Hoolahan, Field, Burke, Robson-Kanu.
Bristol City (4-4-2): Maenpaa; Hunt, Kalas, Webster, Kelly; Watkins, Pack, Brownhill, O’Dowda; Weimann, Taylor.
The Boss says:
"They’re an excellent team but I like to think we’re a good team. You’ll see two teams at the right end of the table playing good football and doing the right things."
Memory Lane:
Kevin Phillips scored twice in three minutes on Boxing Day 2007 to help Albion to a 4-1 win over City. Roman Bednar and Robert Koren scored earlier on.
The Key Man:
Albion’s backline couldn’t pass water on Friday, but when Craig Dawson plays well, it lifts the whole defence. He needs to bounce back tonight.
Dangerman:
Andreas Weimann
The former Villa forward and Wolves loanee has started this season on fire at his new club, netting five goals from seven league games.
But it is the 27-year-old’s relentless pressing that could put Albion’s vulnerable back-line under pressure, particularly if their passing is as poor as it was last Friday.
