Kyle Bartley must repeat Millwall masterclass to halt prolific Preston for West Brom
West Brom face a very tricky test this weekend when they make the trip to a Preston North End side more than holding their own in the higher reaches of the Championship.
Ryan Lowe’s unbeaten side recently put together a run of six successive victories, bookended by a couple of draws, and find themselves third with eight games played.
The Lilywhites have a 100% record at Deepdale this season, with each of their past four home league games stretching back into last season being won by the same 2-1 scoreline.
Preston have kept just two clean sheets across their eight games this season, but they have scored freely at the other end with 13 to their name so far.
In fact, as pointed out by playmakerstats on Twitter [28 September], North End are one of only eight clubs across the top four tiers of English football to have scored in every game they have played this season (nine matches).
That means Albion’s defenders will likely be in for a busy afternoon on Saturday [30 September], whichever five-man combination Carlos Corberan elects to go with – assuming the formation stays the same.
Kyle Bartley seems nailed on to start on the basis of his performance against Millwall last weekend when making seven clearances – three more than any of his team-mates [WhoScored].
The Arsenal academy product also won 10 aerial duels, which was the most of any player on the field, while his 84.5% passing accuracy was bettered by only two other West Brom players to have played a full part.
That is all the more impressive when you consider it was Bartley’s first appearance in three weeks.
Should the experienced centre-back retain his place in the side at Deepdale, he will again have to stand up and lead by example.
In other West Brom news, a player has seemingly not rectified the “problems” previously flagged by Corberan.