Playoff aspirations of West Brom ignited by three successive wins – Adrian Clarke
By Farah Ben Gamra
Adrian Clarke predicts West Brom to be in the Championship play-off hunt if they continue to play as they did in their win against Hull City on Saturday.
Clarke – a frequent commentator on the Championship for talkSPORT – thinks that the Baggies can compete for promotion if they convert more chances..
Speaking to the What the EFL?! podcast, Clarke highlighted several key statistics to back up his brave forecast.
“I’ve got a few stats that are interesting, the reason I think Corberan backed his players to handle Hull’s possession is that they’ve only conceded eight goals in open play all season, that’s second only to Leicester City,” said Clarke.
“It’s amazing who’s leading, Watford, in terms of the fewest shots faced in open play, but West Brom are second, so they’re very good at limiting the opposition
“It’s remarkable, they’ve been behind for 11.3% of the season, which is just phenomenal.”
“If they can find the clinical edge like they did in this game, they’re going to definitely be in the play-offs.”
Adrian Clarke’s Prediction on Point
Indeed, Clarke’s optimism is not misplaced as it seems the Baggies have made great strides in their last few matches. A notable thing is that West Brom is among the best-managed teams with a strong defensive base. This season they have let in just eight goals in open play (this places second behind leaders Leicester).
Manager of West Brom, Carlos Corberan, was overjoyed as they performed exceptionally during the second half of the match. Specifically, Grady Diangana and Brandon Thomas-Asante played great roles in enhancing the opportunity to score goals, which is why their efforts should never be overlooked.
West Brom currently place fifth in the Championship table and are two points ahead of seventh-placed Cardiff City. The Baggies head to St Mary’s to face Southampton this weekend, full of belief that their play-off aspirations are well within reach.
However, if they can keep creating chances, and are also clinical in front of the goal, then Clarke’s prediction may come true.
In other West Brom news, Corberan has hailed the “massive” impact from his players.