‘Absolutely’ – BBC pundit expects West Brom mainstay to be on bench v Wigan
BBC pundit Noel Whelan has admitted that he expects West Brom defender Kyle Bartley to remain on the bench in Saturday’s clash against Wigan.
Ahmed Hegazi has started the last couple of games for the Baggies and has kept consecutive clean-sheets in the victories over Bristol City and Preston.
Whelan claimed Bartley is now facing a fight to return to the starting line-up under Slaven Bilic despite making 32 appearances this season.
Whelan admitted that he would be surprised if Bilic made a change because Hegazi has done exactly what has been asked of him.
“Oh yeah, absolutely. When a player comes in and puts in a decent performance, he demands that next game,” he told Football Insider.
“I don’t think Kyle Bartley will be starting the next game, I’d be very surprised, I think Bilic will have seen the performance and reaction from the players and that is exactly what a manager wants to see.
“I think he’ll keep the faith in him and give him another go, keep that position and keep Bartley on the bench.”
Hegazi has definitely impressed in the past two outings, and Whelan is right – it would be a surprise if the Egyptian was dropped.
The 31-year-old was particularly impressive against Preston. He managed to make five tackles as well as completed four clearances according to WhoScored as Bartley was forced to watch from the sideline once again.
After consecutive wins with clean-sheets, it would be strange for Bilic to start switching a winning formula at this stage of the season.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips has reacted to recent FA decision over Baggies player claiming common sense prevailed