View: Bilic would’ve learned a lot about one West Brom player in laboured draw v Wigan
West Brom struggled against Wigan on Wednesday night as they drew 1-1 at the DW Stadium.
Slaven Bilic made a handful of changes from his tried-and-tested starting line-up in what appeared to be a bid to rest some weary legs ahead of the hectic festive schedule.
It was a decision that made sense and while it did not pay off against Wigan, in the long run, it might be something that certain players needed.
Matheus Pereira was one of the West Brom stars who was rested after his scintillating display against Swansea on Sunday saw him score once and supply three assists in a 5-1 win.
However losing Pereira’s cutting edge was plain to see at the DW Stadium with the 23-year-old’s replacement, Filip Krovinovic, not providing anywhere near the magical spark that the Brazilian can.
According to stats by WhoScored, Krovinovic managed just one key pass in his 90-minute-long appearance in Lancashire on Wednesday.
The Croatian playmaker did impress with his passing accuracy with 96 per cent of his passes – better than any of his team-mates – finding their intended target.
Krovinovic is great at keeping possession. He picks up the ball. Knows where everyone is and moves it on. However you get the sense that the on-loan Benfica midfielder always takes an easier route than what Pereira would.
Pereira came off the bench for the final 30 minutes at Wigan and made two key passes -double the amount of Krovinovic’s in one-third of the time.
Pereira also had a pass accuracy of just 75 per cent.
It is clear that the Brazilian takes more high-risk passes and in the Championship, where West Brom are clearly one of the best teams, more often than not your risk is going to be rewarded.
Krovinovic is yet to really get into that habit of risking a loss of possession to try and find a through-ball to a winger or striker – he plays it way too safe.
Bilic will hopefully have learned at Wigan that Krovinovic is the perfect substitute to bring on when Albion are either struggling to keep the ball or are trying to defend a narrow lead.
If they are playing against a team that wants to sit back and defend then Pereira is someone who will open them up while Krovinovic will only make life easier for them.
In other West Brom news, fans were in awe of this one player against Wigan.