Zac Ashworth starts as Carlos Corberan changes whole team – West Brom confirmed XI vs Chesterfield
Carlos Corberan’s West Brom starting XI for the FA Cup third round trip to Chesterfield has been confirmed by the club.
Zac Ashworth makes only his sixth senior appearance for the club as he starts in defence, as part of 11 changes from the side that beat Reading on 2 January.
David Button returns in goal while Jake Livermore captains a team that is still a strong one to face lower-league opposition.
In front of Button and alongside Ashworth comes in Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Semi Ajayi and Martin Kelly to round out the defence.
Adam Reach and Tom Rogic complete the midfield with Livermore, while Karlan Grant and Grady Diangana support Brandon Thomas-Asante in attack.
Cup run?
The Baggies head to fifth-tier Chesterfield on the back of a wave of positivity since the arrival of Corberan, having climbed into the top half of the Championship and the brink of the play-off places.
A matter of weeks ago an away game at lower-league opposition in the FA Cup would have had alarm bells ringing among the Albion fan base, as it would have had embarrassing banana skin written all over it under Steve Bruce.
Now the club are one of the form teams in the division and are looking a strong bet to make the promotion push they were supposed to this season.
A cup run has the potential to distract from what is the clear priority in the league, and Corberan will still have to be wary of an upset.
But with the squad coming through the hectic post-World Cup schedule with little damage he can share minutes out.
Clearly, anything other than a win against a National League side would be a major disappointment, but with players in form and the atmosphere around the club now buoyant the Baggies go into this one with confidence.
In other West Brom news, a former Albion player raved about a current member of the side who is going from strength to strength under the new manager.