Sam Johnstone likely to play despite illness in West Brom v Swansea
Steve Bruce will be looking to pick up his first win as a West Brom manager on Monday (28 February) when the Baggies will take on Swansea at the Hawthorns.
Ahead of the match, The Atheltic journalist Steve Madeley has provided the team news from the press conference.
Sam Johnstone has picked up an illness, though not Covid, and Albion expect him to be fit for Monday’s clash.
Daryl Dike and Matty Phillips are both still out injured and they are unlikely to feature. No timeline has been put on when they can return.
Madeley wrote on Twitter: “No major changes in terms of availability from Steve Bruce’s pre-Swansea press conference. Daryl Dike and Matty Phillips still out. Sam Johnstone ill today (not Covid) but Albion hopeful he’ll be OK by the game on Monday.”
Must-win
Forget about challenging for play-offs, forget about promotion, the current situation cannot simply be allowed to continue. A win is needed to bring back some semblance of positivity.
The Baggies have lost five of their last six games, drawing the other one.
They have picked up just one win from their last 11 games in the Championship.
Bruce was brought in to rectify the mistakes made by the previous manager and use his expertise and experience to take them high up the table.
So far, there’s nothing to show on the table.
Bruce, however, remains confident that he has seen progress in recent games, and he will be hoping to secure his first win next week.
In the last game, West Brom took an early lead at Riverside, but they simply couldn’t cope with the barrage of attack from Boro in the second half.
In the end, they ended up conceding two goals and lost 2-1. Swansea are 17th in the league and West Brom should look to pick up all three points.
In other West Brom news, the Albion have agreed terms for a February signing.
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