Carlos Corberan could call on West Brom youth as four attackers ruled out of Chesterfield replay in FA Cup
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan will likely hand his faith in the club’s youth against Chesterfield after four first-team attackers have all been ruled out of the clash, according to the Express and Star.
The Baggies take on The Spireites on Tuesday night (17 January) in their third-round FA Cup replay at the Hawthorns, following an entertaining 3-3 draw in the initial tie.
However, Corberan will be forced into making ringing changes in attack due to the need to rest American striker Daryl Dike and the suspension of Brandon Thomas Asante – who was penalised for his flying elbow in the closing stages of the draw.
The Express and Star report said: “Corberan is unable to call on the suspended Brandon Thomas-Asante, rested Daryl Dike and injured duo Karlan Grant and Kenneth Zohore.
“Instead the head coach will call on under-21s forward duo Jovan Malcolm and Reyes Cleary – the former who travelled as an extra to Luton but is yet to make his senior Albion debut.”
Blow
The needless suspension of Thomas-Asante has come back to bite West Brom in quite some fashion.
Corberan would not have wanted to field the likes of Malcolm and Cleary, no matter how highly rated they are, and the Spaniard will hope his side can still successfully navigate this banana skin in the FA Cup.
Without a natural first-team centre forward available, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see either Matt Philips or Jed Wallace played through the middle in a fluid front three against their lower-league opposition.
And with a trip to Championship leaders Burnley awaiting on Friday (20 January), the Spanish manager cannot afford to risk losing Dike before such a crucial match.
If the Baggies can come through these two matches unscathed, it will come as a huge relief, as they really are light of options in attack. This deficiency has possibly highlighted that a dip into the loan market could be needed as the league hots up in the second half of the season.
In other West Brom news, a Supercomputer has made a new Baggies promotion prediction after Carlos Corberan’s side came from behind to defeat Luton Town.