View: West Brom 24y/o deserves to keep spot v Brentford as local journo suggests switch
West Brom travel to Brentford on Friday evening knowing it will be one of their biggest games of the season.
If the Baggies win, they extend their gap to the play-offs to 10 points, but defeat could see that slip to four should Fulham beat Leeds.
Slaven Bilic was proud of his players after their 0-0 draw against Birmingham on Saturday, but he will know that they need to improve against the Bees.
Many outsiders, including journalists, have backed the Croatian to make a number of changes for the trip to Griffin Park.
The Express and Star journalist Joseph Masi has backed Dara O’Shea to return at right-back to replace Darnell Furlong after he was given the nod against the Blues.
It would be a harsh call on the 24-year-old, who didn’t put a foot out of line at the Hawthorns in the Midlands derby and definitely deserves to keep his spot.
Furlong lost his spot to O’Shea just after Christmas, and he will hoping after his appearance on Saturday that he can cement his spot for the final eight games.
The right-back was solid against the Blues, winning five of his aerial duels as well as making a couple of interceptions down the right-hand side according to WhoScored.
Furlong started the reverse fixture back in December and actually scored the Baggies’ equaliser in the 1-1 draw. The defender has bags of pace behind him, and that was critical in stopping many of the threats possessed by the Londoners that day.
In this example, left-back Rico Henry loses Matt Phillips down the right-hand side, and Furlong has the pace to recover the situation and avoid an overload.
Furlong is back and in position before the ball can even be controlled by his opposite number, sparing the blushes of Phillips who was slow to react to the switch of play.
O’Shea may struggle against the likes of Said Benrahma and Ollie Watkins, who both have natural speed and flair – something that Furlong will be perfect for on Friday evening.
Furlong did nothing wrong against the Blues and has proved previously this season that he must keep his spot for the trip to Griffin Park.
In other West Brom news, this local journo has suggested a couple of switches for Albion’s clash with the Bees
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