View: Glowing praise for Birmingham partnership highlights real danger for West Brom on Sat
After three long months away from the action, the Championship finally returns on Saturday as West Brom welcome Birmingham to the Hawthorns.
The Baggies couldn’t have wished for better preparation over the past week having come through tough friendlies against Aston Villa and Manchester United.
All eyes will be on Birmingham now, and Slaven Bilic will be looking for ways to exploit their nearest rivals after some struggles at St Andrew’s earlier in the season.
Birmingham’s star man Lukas Jutkiewicz has spoken to Boyle Sports recently, giving glowing praise to his partnership with loan man Scott Hogan.
“I thoroughly enjoy playing with Scott,” he said.
“He’s been a great addition to us, on the field and off the field. His goalscoring speaks for itself, it’s crazy to think he’s actually only played eight games but scored seven.
“We seemed to click straight away.”
They certainly have found whatever secret formula is needed to succeed in the Championship, and they must be stopped if West Brom want to pick up all three points.
Looking at their time together, in the eight games they’ve played, they have scored a combined total of 10 goals – the entire squad has only added another three.
Jutkiewicz is known for his rough and ready approach, and essentially being able to bully defenders. That is a big part of this partnership.
Take Hogan’s goal against Sheffield Wednesday for example.
The ball has been hit long by Marc Roberts from the defence, and this shows the number nine climbing above his man to head the ball towards goal.
Hogan thrives in these sort of areas and sniffs out where the danger will be and is there to volley home to rescue a point for the Blues.
Semi Ajayi will be key to stopping this danger, and he must be prepared for a tough afternoon against Jutkiewicz. If the Nigerian powerhouse can win this battle with the striker, he could have a massive say on the Baggies picking up three points.
In other West Brom news, reliable journalist has confirmed that WBA are among the front-runners for this 22-year-old
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