View: Pereira ban could lead to Bilic switching up West Brom formation
West Brom manager Slaven Bilic has been dealt a blow with Matheus Pereira’s three-match ban for his elbow on Joe Allen on Monday night – but it does open up an opportunity.
While the Baggies are bound to miss the 23-year-old attacker, who many would regard as the club’s player of the season so far, Bilic might be able to have a little tinker with his tactics while the Brazilian is banned.
Bilic has used a 4-2-3-1 formation in virtually every single Championship fixture this season [transfermarkt] but will be without both left-winger Grady Diangana and central attacking midfielder Pereira for at least the next three games.
Filip Krovinovic could be a like-for-like replacement for Pereira in the number 10 role but, as many fans would agree with, the Croatian playmaker has hardly shone when starting in that position this season.
It might make the most sense for Bilic to switch the formation around and have a little experiment against West Ham on Saturday – a game in which the Baggies boss was always likely to rest key players such as Pereira.
One option could be a 4-3-3. Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore have seen their form fall off a cliff in the last month and maybe an extra body in the centre of the pitch will help them out.
Rekeem Harper impressed against Charlton in the FA Cup last month and he could provide the fresh impetus that would spark a new lease of life into the West Brom engine room.
Gareth Barry’s experienced head and defensive-mindedness might allow Sawyers and Livermore to push forward a little bit more and offer more in the playmaker and box-to-box midfield roles they are meant for.
Krovinovic can play in a deeper midfield role but there have been too many occasions this season when he has not delivered. Bilic might want to overlook him over the coming weeks, unless he has seen something from his fellow Croat in training that suggests he should start.
Either way, an extra body in the centre of the midfield could help ease up the flow of goals that are being conceded at the moment while a more advanced role for Sawyers could mean that the attack gets a bit more creativity.
While Barry and Harper are not two options that will excite fans, Bilic might as well have a try rather than stick with a system that has not yielded any league wins in over a month.
In other West Brom news, Albion are set to bid for this £9million player.