Early West Brom team news v Stoke – Karlan Grant fit to play
West Brom manager Steve Bruce has provided a vital update regarding the fitness of top scorer Karlan Grant ahead of tomorrow’s game against Stoke City.
The 24-year-old was left out of the squad entirely for the Baggies’ 2-0 victory against high-flying Bournemouth on Wednesday with illness and a calf strain keeping him out of contention.
Andy Carroll replaced him in the Albion starting XI and scored the second of two goals as West Brom blew the Cherries away at The Hawthorns.
BBC Radio West Midlands Sport now share (via Twitter) that Bruce has told them of Grant’s availability for the visit of the Potters tomorrow but whether he starts or not is still to be seen.
Grady Diangana also started upfront on Wednesday as Grant’s partner in crime Callum Robinson was dropped to the bench.
Get them together
Grant and Robinson had developed a very good partnership on the frontline of the West Brom team prior to last Sunday’s derby day defeat against Birmingham City.
But after Carroll was the best player on the pitch against Bournemouth, it would be very harsh on him to drop him back to the bench because Grant is back fit again.
The last thing the Stoke defence will want to see is both of them starting up top together so, naturally, that is exactly what Bruce has to do if he has any ambitions of winning the game.
Grant’s agile runs alongside the brute force of Carroll would be a difficult assignment to defend for anyone in the league, whether they’re top or bottom.
West Brom are also boosted by the unavailability of Romaine Sawyers for the Potters, who scored in midweek against Reading, as he is on loan from The Hawthorns at the Bet365 Stadium.
In other West Brom news, Daryl Dike has been gushing over Carroll on his Instagram after Wednesday’s epic display.
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