West Brom senior duo to be axed to U21s on Monday night v Wolves
West Brom Under-21s are set to face Wolves at Aggborough on Monday night in a mini-Black Country Derby.
Earlier this week, Tony Mowbray used the Under-21s side’s match against Newcastle to hand minutes to Semi Ajayi and Daryl Dike to aid them in their bids to return to fitness.
However, it seems that the next youth game at Kidderminster’s ground will be used to give minutes to senior players who aren’t injured but haven’t been involved in the first team much this season.
Gianluca Frabotta and Devante Cole to play for West Brom U21s
West Brom have had their fair share of injury problems this season.
However, despite the ongoing issues, Carlos Corberan, Chris Brunt and Mowbray have managed to keep Albion in the play-off hunt with the Black Country club sitting in sixth place after 32 games.
Even though there’s been a real shortage at times in defence and up front, Gianluca Frabotta and Devante Cole have both barely played.
According to The Express & Star (14 February), full-back Frabotta and striker Cole are set to appear for the youth side in their Monday (17 February) game against Wolves.
On top of this, West Brom and USA striker Dike is expected to play as he continues to recover from injury.
There’s a chance new West Brom signing Tammer Bany could also be involved because, as he’s 21 years old, he won’t be classed as an over-age player.
Tony Mowbray set to make choices after U-21 West Brom game
A 2-0 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday (12 February) showed Mowbray that there is still plenty of work for him to do at The Hawthorns in order to feel confident about his side’s prospects this term.
Therefore, a number of players will have to take a chance with the Under-21 side to prove their abilities in the hope of convincing the manager that they are worth inclusion in a first-team match day squad.
Although he joined Albion in the summer transfer window, Frabotta has not started a single Championship game for West Brom and instead, has had to settle for just six appearances from the bench.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder that the boss needs convincing before he can bring him into the first-team fold going forward.
Even for players like Dike who are coming back from injury though, showing off their abilities for Mowbray could have a big part to play in how many minutes they get between now and then end of the campaign, making this youth game a big one.