Carlos Corberan impact revealed as West Brom already three wins better off than last season
The start to the season for West Brom has been a hard one to quantify, with the Baggies sitting pretty in the play-off places after an impressive unbeaten run.
It was always likely to be a season of slight uncertainty, given the tumultuous financial position at The Hawthorns currently and the lack of investment afforded to Carlos Corberan in the summer transfer window.
Despite having his hands tied, Corberan has clearly improved Albion’s fortunes since arriving at the club last October and that is demonstrated by comparing where the Baggies currently sit in the Championship, compared to this time last season.
According to analysis from the Brummie Road Ender (4 October) West Brom are 16 places higher than they were at this stage last year, having won three more matches and picked up an additional six points to see them currently sit fifth compared to 21st last season.
Corberan’s side have scored 17 goals so far this season, two more than they had last year, despite only being able to call upon Brandon Thomas-Asante to lead the line, with Josh Maja and Daryl Dike out injured and Karlan Grant away on loan with Cardiff City.
Defensively, the Baggies are tighter, conceding three fewer goals than in the 2022/23 campaign and that has been a noticeable change under the Spanish manager since the September international break. Albion have kept clean sheets in four of their five matches since their 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town.
Corberan’s side have really limited the chances that their opposition has been able to create, in their win over Preston, Ryan Lowe’s side only managed an expected goal of 0.46 while Sheffield Wednesday only created an xG of 0.19 [Fotmob].
Alex Palmer has been in inspired form when he has been called into action and earned the Baggies a valuable point with his penalty save against Millwall and made a number of strong saves against Bristol City to keep West Brom in the match.
There is plenty more work to be done for Albion to mount a genuine play-off challenge, but the work so far under Corberan shows that the Baggies are heading in the right direction, even if his hands are tied behind the scenes.
In other West Brom news, Nathaniel Chalobah has been set a new challenge by his manager to earn his place at The Hawthorns