Credit: Imago

Daniel Lewis

Tue 21 April 2026 19:18, UK

West Bromwich Albion take on Watford on Tuesday evening with Josh Maja and Daryl Dike both selected from the start.

James Morrison‘s men are aiming to extend their unbeaten run to nine matches when Watford visit The Hawthorns.

Caretaker boss Morrison has named an attacking starting lineup on paper, which includes Maja and Dike up top, with Isaac Price, Jayson Molumby, Ousmane Diakite and Jayson Molumby making up the midfield.

Callum Styles, George Campbell, Nat Phillips and Daniel Imray are named in defence, meanwhile, ahead of Max O’Leary in goal.

And one rather bizarre fact has emerged ahead of kick-off against Watford regarding West Brom’s starting XI.

Josh Maja and Daryl Dike get chance to show they can start together

Maja and Dike were the scorers of the goals in West Brom’s 2-0 win at Preston North End at the weekend.

The pair were on the field together for around 15 minutes, with Maja getting the nod to start and Dike coming on quite late into the game.

Morrison has gone with both players from the start against Watford, however, and that is a rarity indeed.

In fact, as pointed out by the Express & Star journalist Lewis Cox via X, it is the first time the pair have ever started for West Brom together.

The pair have been at The Hawthorns since 2023, making this quirk “pretty mad” as Cox himself puts it.

Injury issues have a lot to do with that, of course, but there have been plenty of occasions one has started over the other when both are in the squad.

Should the pair perform well – and that does not even necessarily mean both of them scoring – there is no reason why this experiment cannot continue.

What change did West Brom make from Preston win?

Morrison has not been afraid to go with two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation, with Aune Heggebo again getting the nod alongside Maja versus Preston.

Heggebo was left out of the XI to face Watford, though, giving Dike an opportunity to impress from the start.

That was the only change made by Morrison between matches, with the caretaker clearly not afraid to tinker with a winning formula.

The Baggies have given themselves a bit of breathing space now, but the job is by no means complete just yet.

Should the gap on the bottom three extend any further on Tuesday night, fans can start to relax even more – before focus then switches to the ongoing PSR fiasco.