Callum O'Connell

Wed 6 December 2023 10:10, UK

Carlos Corberan will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of a late 2-1 defeat to Leicester City as West Brom travel to the Stadium of Light to face a managerless Sunderland on 9 December.

After scoring an 89th-minute equaliser against Leicester, the Baggies looked set for a fantastic point against the league leaders, before Harry Winks dashed their hopes in the 94th minute of the game.

Travelling to a Sunderland side who recently parted company with Tony Mowbray and have won just one of their last five games should provide an ideal opportunity to bounce back from that disappointment.

Alex Palmer will keep his place between the sticks as he continues to be a reliable presence behind the Albion defence, with Cedric Kipre likely to keep his place in the heart of the back line.

Kyle Bartley missed out against Leicester but will travel to Sunderland [Birmingham Live, 4 December], and could take the place of Semi Ajayi as he looks to continue his run of seven games without defeat when he has started, and Ajayi looked underwhelming against Leicester.

In the full-back positions, Conor Townsend and Darnell Furlong should remain in from the start with a full week of rest since their last game, where Townsend captained the side and Furlong continued his string of impressive displays.

The usual sitting midfield pair of Alex Mowatt and Okay Yokuslu is set to be broken up with the latter suspended for the trip to Sunderland after an accumulation of yellow cards, meaning Nathaniel Chalobah could be called upon as he was chosen to replace Yokuslu as a substitute last week.

Going forward, John Swift should return to the side in the attacking midfield spot in place of Jeremy Sarmiento who struggled to impact the game last time out. Swift is Albion’s top scorer so far this season and will be looking to keep up his deadly form.

Out wide, meanwhile, another change will be enforced after Corberan confirmed Matt Phillips will “100%” miss a number of weeks with a hamstring injury. [Birmingham Live, 4 December]

Tom Fellows should be the one called upon to replace Phillips, having impressed in multiple cameo performances so far, and the opportunity has now presented itself for the 20-year-old to make his first start of the season.

On the opposite wing, Grady Diangana was disappointing against Leicester, but his recent displays have earned him enough credit to secure his place in the side with three goals and three assists so far this season.

Up front, Josh Maja has finally earned a start under Corberan, with Brandon Thomas-Asante struggling to find the back of the net, having scored just one open-play goal in his last fourteen games, a run that stretches back to August. [Sofascore]

Maja, meanwhile, made an immediate impact off the bench as he scored a deserved equaliser against Leicester before the late disappointment, and should now have done enough to be chosen to play from the start for the first time in the Championship this season.

In other West Brom news, a journalist has mooted a new position for Thomas-Asante.