Sam Johnstone axed in four changes: West Brom predicted XI v Blackpool
Steve Bruce is predicted to axe four players from his starting line-up as West Brom prepare to host Blackpool at The Hawthorns on Friday night.
Sam Johnstone, Semi Ajayi, Jayson Molumby and Grady Diangana could all be dropped after the woeful 3-1 defeat to Stoke City last time out.
David Button, Darnell Furlong, Dara O’Shea and Karlan Grant could all start for the mid-table Championship clash on Good Friday.
As quoted by the Birmingham Mail, Bruce admitted after the defeat to Stoke that Johnstone is likely to move on this summer and that Button and Alex Palmer will be in contention for a number one spot once he’s gone.
Button is a “very, very decent goalkeeper”, according to Bruce, so we expect him to start against Blackpool with an image on Johnstone’s Instagram on Wednesday [13 April] possibly hinting he might not be with the squad this week.
After a woeful display against Stoke, we also predict Bruce to shake the defence up a bit and O’Shea is definitely overdue a start. He could replace Ajayi and be joined by Kyle Bartley and Matt Clarke in the back-three.
Furlong and Conor Townsend might start as wing-backs while Taylor Garder-Hickman could be moved into the midfield with Jake Livermore and Alex Mowatt.
Andy Carroll has easily been West Brom’s best player in 2022 so he’s bound to start up front and could be partnered by Grant after he recently returned from an illness and calf strain.
In other West Brom news, Sam Johnstone has lashed out a fan yet again on Twitter.
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