West Brom predicted XI v Luton Town
West Brom go in search of their first Championship win of the season against Luton Town this afternoon.
Valerien Ismael will have been delighted with his squad after the 2-2 draw against promotion rivals Bournemouth last week.
Luton are nearing the top of the pile early on after their big win over Peterborough last week, and this will be a big challenge.
Ismael has confirmed that Sam Johnstone will start in goal and replace David Button, with talks continuing over a new contract.
There should also be a change in defence, with Semi Ajayi coming back in to replace Cedric Kipre after a couple of mistakes.
Kyle Bartley and Dara O’Shea should both continue in that newly-formed back three, as they both dominated on the south coast.
Darnell Furlong and Conor Townsend will be looking to cement their spots been further this season, even with the change of management.
That moves us to midfield, and with no real competition for their places, Jake Livermore and Alex Mowatt – although they both deserve it.
Callum Robinson and Karlan Grant will start once again, but there will be one more change to the starting XI.
Despite Grady Diangana being classed as fine after hobbling off last week, Matt Phillips should come back in after shining in pre-season.
Here’s how we expect the Baggies to line up…
Three points would be perfect to kickstart the season for real, and this team would give us every confidence they should come this afternoon.
In other West Brom news, Valerien Ismael confirms major internal Baggies talks, drops big team news v Luton