West Brom: Carlos Corberan must drag off Nathaniel Chalobah at half-time v Coventry, he’s been anonymous
West Brom entered the half-time break 1-0 up in their crucial Midlands derby clash against Coventry City and Carlos Corberan will be demanding much more from senior man Nathaniel Chalobah.
The Albion were looking to climb into the top six of the Championship against their Midlands rivals on Monday and started the game off in the ascendancy unnerving their opponents with some telling crosses in the opening minutes.
Defender Kyle Bartley thought he’d given the Baggies the lead inside eight minutes when his header came back off the post at the last second but was adjudged to have been offside.
Coventry grabbed some control back and Carlos Corberan and his team had Cedric Kipre to thank when he brilliantly blocked Haji Wright’s shot inside the penalty area before Palmer crucially saved a Tatsuhiro Sakamoto shot from outside the penalty area.
But West Brom grabbed the lead inside 16 minutes when Coventry City’s Ben Wilson horrifically parried a Nathaniel Chalobah shot into the path of Grady Diangana who made no mistake from close range.
Wright should really have brought the Sky Blues level 15 minutes from the half-time break after being found with a brilliant cross but dragged his shot well wide. The American then had another attempt which was well saved by Alex Palmer.
Coventry certainly ramped up the pressure on the West Brom rearguard but simply could break through a pretty stout and rugged resistance with the Albion having the sixth-best defensive record in the division and the joint-highest clean sheets so far this season (6).
The Albion certainly rode their luck at times during the first half and it may well be that the Spaniard drags off Chalobah who’s been pretty abject in the first half.
The former Watford and Napoli was a surprise starter when the teams were announced with Corberan searching for some solidity in the middle of the park but Chalobah failed to provide it.
As per Sofascore, the 28-year-old successfully completed just 64% of his passes, barely touched the ball with 19 touches received a needless yellow card, won just two of his five ground duels at a success rate of 40%, lost 100% of his aerial duels and lost possession seven times.
Given his experience, Chalobah could well return for the second half but there are plenty other options for Corberan to consider in the second half who could come on and provide the midfield thrust he needs. He must be dragged off.
In other West Brom news, the club have been tipped to land a significant benefit from a potential timeline for the mooted takeover.