Carlos Corberan must drag off Jayson Molumby at HT v Stoke, West Brom need more
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan has to substitute midfielder Jayson Molumby at half-time if his side are to stay on top against Stoke City in their Championship match on Saturday (24 August).
A cagey opening 15 minutes gave way to an end-to-end contest in the first half as Albion took the lead through Karlan Grant, but then saw Lewis Koumas equalise before Josh Maja restored their advantage.
Stoke’s pressing for a second equaliser put the Baggies defence under immense pressure, and they cut through the midfield pairing of Molumby and Alex Mowatt far too easily.
Molumby was at times caught in possession and picked up a late yellow card for a lunge on a Stoke player, with Corberan needing a more solid presence in front of the defence.
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It’s not hard to think that had new signing Uros Racic’s work permit been processed in time to feature in this match, Molumby would have been the player chosen to come out of the side.
While Mowatt provided passing outlets and showed a willingness to drop deep and help out his defence in the first half, Molumby was much lesser-spotted in his half of the double pivot.
With no Racic and Callum Styles also yet to sign despite undergoing a medical [DOOD, 23 August], Corberan has few options on the bench to replace Molumby – hence his start in a deeper midfield position.
Unless John Swift drops deeper alongside Mowatt and Molumby, Ousmane Diakite appears the clearest option for Corberan to bring off the bench and shore up a result – with Molumby surely set to be the player who comes off.
In other West Brom news, Corberan has discussed what business the Baggies still need to do before the transfer window closes.
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