View: Bilic to make one change as key player returns – West Brom predicted XI v Stoke
West Brom welcome Stoke City to The Hawthorns on Monday night as they aim to end their run of five Championship matches without a win.
As it stands, Albion are top of the table and seven points clear of third-placed Brentford. However that could change by the time Slaven Bilic’s men take to the pitch on Monday as they take on their relegation-threatened rivals.
Bilic could make just one change to his starting line-up for the clash against Stoke.
Now that Grady Diangana is back to full fitness following his 20-minute-long appearance off the bench at Charlton last week, the on-loan West Ham attacker is likely to start.
Hal Robson-Kanu could drop out to make way for Diangana, with Kenneth Zohore retaining his spot in the side after scoring two goals in his last two appearances.
Sam Johnstone is predicted to start in goals behind a back-four of Darnell Furlong, Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley and Conor Townsend.
Nathan Ferguson has returned to fitness this week and should be in the squad against Stoke [Birmingham Mail] but we predict that Bilic will give him a bit more time before throwing him back into the starting line-up.
Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore have been mainstays of the central midfield roles this season and are predicted to retain their spots in the centre of Bilic’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Matt Phillips is likely to start on the right-wing with Diangana coming in on the left and Matheus Pereira in between them in the central attacking midfield position.
Up front, Bilic has plenty of options in Zohore, Robson-Kanu and Charlie Austin. However the fact that Zohore has hit the back of the net twice in successive games means that he could be named to spearhead Albion’s attack on Monday night.
In other West Brom news, David Prutton has made his prediction for the match against Stoke.