Thomas-Asante must be dropped for West Brom second leg v Southampton after Carlos Corberan admission
Carlos Corberan must consider dropping West Brom striker Brandon Thomas-Asante against Southampton.
Corberan’s side are preparing for their biggest game in years.
The Baggies will travel to St Mary’s Stadium on Friday (17 May) to take on Southampton in the second leg of their play-off semi-final.
It ended 0-0 during the first leg at The Hawthorns on Sunday (12 May), which means it is all to play for on the South Coast.
And ahead of the clash, Corberan has been discussing his options at number nine having left Josh Maja out of the squad during the first leg against the Saints.
Corberan said (via Birmingham Live, 15 May), “If I didn’t have a striker, the decision with Josh would be done.
“If I have another striker, the decision is different. I am not worried because I am going to have a striker anyway, so there are more decisions which are more important than that one.”
Carlos Corberan must include Josh Maja for West Brom against Southampton
Corberan might feel as if he has more important decisions to make, but after Thomas-Asante’s recent performances, it is clear that Maja needs to be included against Russell Martin’s side.
As per Sofascore, Thomas-Asante failed to register a single shot on target during the first leg against Southampton, with his only attempt at goal blocked.
The 25-year-old managed just 15 touches of the ball, completing 80 per cent of his passes, while registering just one successful dribble from his three attempts.
Defensively he was equally as poor, winning just two of his eight ground duels and losing both of his aerial duels.
He also gave possession away six times while he was dribbled past once, and while Corberan doesn’t feel any pressure to include Maja, the performance of his preferred choice suggests that he should.
In other West Brom news, Opta analyst has ranked the Baggies’ chances of reaching the play-off final.
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