View: Three West Brom players pushing to start v Crystal Palace
West Brom face Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns on Sunday, with the Baggies hoping to move out of the relegation zone with a victory.
Slaven Bilic’s side earned their first Premier League win of the season against Sheffield United last weekend, with a Conor Gallagher effort the only goal in a close game where both sides had the opportunities to score.
Despite the win, Bilic will be looking closely at how he can make improvements to his side for this match, with a few players likely to be available.
Here are three players pushing for a start against Palace.
Jake Livermore
The Baggies captain has missed out on their last two games after testing positive for COVID-19 but is now back in training. His form has not been amazing so far this season, with his quality on the ball diminishing West Brom’s ability to progress the ball through midfield.
Romaine Sawyers started in his place against Manchester United and Sheffield United and did well, but Livermore’s tackling ability and defensive outlook could come in handy against Crystal Palace, who look to attack on the counter-attack with plenty of speed and directness.
Hal Robson-Kanu
With 10 Championship goals last season, the Robson-Kanu was the Baggies joint-top scorer in the league last season and is now back to full fitness. The Welshman has played minutes off the bench in their last two matches and with Karlan Grant and Callum Robinson struggling in front of goal, Bilic could be tempted to throw him in.
According to FBRef, Robson-Kanu has averaged 2.54 shots of target per 90 minutes this season, a better record than any other player in the squad.
Dara O’Shea
Left on the bench against the Blades, O’Shea will be pushing to replace Branislav Ivanovic in the Baggies back three against Palace. Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley were decent against Chris Wilder’s side, but the Serbian was ineffective, winning just one aerial duel and completing just 13 passes (via WhoScored).
The 21-year-old has done well as part of a back three and with Bartley capable of playing centrally, there could be a spot for him on the left side of the trio.
In other West Brom news, why the Baggies are in the ideal position to add second win v Crystal Palace
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