Has the penny dropped on West Brom’s use of Alfie Gilchrist? Stats hint at Hawthorns revival
Alfie Gilchrist had arguably his best game in a West Brom shirt in the 1-1 draw to Southampton this Wednesday.
Albion now turn their attention to their clash on the weekend against Hull City, where they will look to pick up their first win in 15 competitive matches.
James Morrison may look to keep the same defensive lineup that faced the Saints, as the Baggies so nearly kept a crucial clean sheet for the three points.
Gilchrist was shifted into centre-back, which was his first time playing the role since arriving at The Hawthorns in the summer.
Now, the defender could be about to play a huge part for West Brom at the best possible time with just nine games left in the season.
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Has Alfie Gilchrist found a permanent new role?
Gilchrist was brought to The Hawthorns on a permanent deal from Chelsea last summer, bringing a high reputation behind him.
Like many Albion players this season, he has suffered from poor individual performances when he has played, but may have found his new role instead of being deployed as a right-back.
- Gilchrist has played 12 games in the Championship
- Only seven of those 12 have been starts
As highlighted in the graphic below, he achieved a 6.9 Sofascore rating against Southampton, his joint-second highest rating of the season.
The Englishman made 10 defensive contributions and would have kept a clean sheet if Max O’Leary had managed to reach the ball for Southampton’s stoppage-time equaliser.
From his 48 touches, Gilchrist proved his composure on the ball, and looked suited to being deployed as a ball-playing centre-half.
The 22-year-old recorded an 84 per cent pass accuracy from the game and has surely set himself up for a start against Hull on Saturday.
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The Hull City stat that could change James Morrison’s lineup
Charlie Taylor was ineligible to play against Southampton last time out due to him being on loan from the Saints, but he will be available to play against Hull.
Krystian Bielik is still a doubt for the game, which means Morrison will have to decide which centre-back pairing to go for.
Taylor has underperformed for large parts of Albion’s season, but the West Brom boss may opt for experience over Gilchrist.
Hull City also average the fourth most accurate long balls per match in the division at a rate of 25.1 per 90.
Given that Gilchrist is on the smaller side for a defender, Morrison may have to pick his defence carefully, as they are prepared to face Hull’s physical striker, Ollie McBurnie.
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