Why James Morrison has stumbled on his best West Brom duo as QPR evidence proves

James Morrison's enforced West Bromwich Albion tactical tweaks against QPR has produced a recipe for success.

The Baggies extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to four games on Saturday afternoon with a 1-1 draw against the Hoops.

However, when Morrison's starting lineup was announced on Saturday morning, plenty of Albion eyebrows were raised.

In-form trio Jimmy-Jay Morgan, George Campbell and Ousmane Diakite were all benched, but those weren't enforced alterations.

The ones that were resided at the full-back positions, as Nolan Galves and Brayann Pereira missed out through injury and suspension.

Despite threatening to provide an Achilles heel in Albion's backline, what Morrison got instead was a potential formula for the rest of the season.

How Conor Townsend silenced any West Brom sceptics vs QPR

Returning to The Hawthorns on a free transfer this summer, Conor Townsend arrived back in B71 with plenty to prove.

The 33-year-old missed the entirety of Ipswich Town's 2025-26 Premier League promotion-winning season through injury, and only played 10 times in 2024-25.

It's been a number of years since he was starring in a Baggies shirt, and so there was understandable doubt over how much was left in the tank.

Morrison handed him his first league start of the season against QPR at left-back, and the veteran proved the engine warning light isn't on.

As per FotMob, Townsend completed 75 of his 81 pass attempts accurately, created two chances and took 103 touches.

He also played 11 passes into the final third, attempted seven crosses, was accurate with his four long ball attempts and made four recoveries.

Townsend's inclusion in the side pushed Callum Styles over to right-back, and somehow, the Hungarian may even have found a new gear there too.

Morrison must accommodate Styles and Townsend in West Brom XI's

Townsend's excellent display at left-back somewhat put the pressure on Styles to match it over on the right.

Neither one of Galves or Pereira, the former in particular, have signed for Albion to simply be happy acting as full-back cover.

But with Townsend's performance making him surely undroppable on the left moving forward, Styles can say the same for his outing on the right.

Not only did he curl home a superb left-footed finish to earn Albion a point, but he banked an all-round excellent performance too.

Per FotMob, he created the most chances (four) of any player on the pitch on Saturday, and completed 83 per cent of his passes.

The 26-year-old also took 89 touches, played five passes into the final third, won five tackles and eight of his 13 ground duels.

So, with a Black Country derby against Wolves next on the agenda, Morrison would be crazy to move away from a Styles-Townsend full-back combo at Molineux.