Corberan must now bench West Brom's 6/10 star after Saints showing

Corberan must now bench West Brom’s 6/10 star after Saints showing

West Bromwich Albion will aim to swiftly put the disappointment of losing to Southampton last time out to one side tonight, as the Baggies make the colossal journey down to Home Park to face off against Plymouth Argyle.

That 2-0 defeat to Russell Martin’s high-flying Saints was actually the first time West Brom had tasted the bitterness of a loss in February so far, with Carlos Corberan now wanting his side to recapture their best against Ian Foster’s Pilgrims on the way to picking up three points.

The Baggies boss might well not be afraid to make brash calls in order to immediately bounce back, with Jed Wallace in danger of dropping out of the Spaniard’s first-team plans tonight despite wearing the captain’s armband last Friday night.

Jed Wallace’s performance vs Southampton in numbers

Substituted off on the 65th-minute mark, Wallace had a quiet and lacklustre game for his standards against the Saints.

Amassing just 20 touches of the ball at the Hawthorns – with West Brom goalkeeper Alex Palmer even coming in with a higher touch total at 29 – Wallace’s creative spark and flair was nowhere to be found as Southampton stood firm to thwart the ex-Millwall man.

Failing to also register a single shot at Gavin Bazunu’s goal, who had conceded six goals from his last two games before this encounter, Wallace was passenger-like on a frustrating night in truth for Corberan’s hosts.

Only coming away from the game with a 63% pass accuracy, which falls way below his season average per game of 77%, it could be a smart call to ditch the 29-year-old attacker for the away trip to Plymouth after such a poor showing.

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BirminghamWorld journalist Charlie Haffenden would generously give Wallace a 6/10 rating after the full-time whistle in his post-match thoughts however, but he did state that the winger ‘struggled’ beating the likes of Saints man Jack Stephens throughout.

This potential decision to axe Wallace will have been made easier to stomach with the knowledge that Grady Diangana is now back and ready for selection after participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, the former West Ham United man in line for a starting spot against the Pilgrims subsequently.

Grady Diangana’s performance vs Southampton in numbers

The Democratic Republic of Congo international showed flashes of his brilliance late on against the Saints, given a 25-minute run-out by Corberan to try and help instigate a dramatic comeback.

Diangana would manage to notch up one key pass despite only featuring briefly, only needing 11 touches to unlock a rigid Southampton back four on the night.

Diangana’s numbers vs Southampton

Minutes played

25

Touches

11

Accurate passes

7/8 (88%)

Key passes

1

Big chances created

1

Stats by Sofascore

This game tonight could well be an ideal one for Diangana to start to stake a claim for being in and amongst Corberan’s first-team plans again, with Plymouth leaking 11 goals from their last four encounters in all competitions.

Therefore, Diangana will hope – if he does get the nod ahead of Wallace – that he can terrorise the Pilgrims’ defence further and get back to his Baggies best after an up-and-down individual campaign to date.

Bagging five goals and picking up four assists from 22 second-tier appearances, the 25-year-old will aim to become more even impactful for the West Midlands outfit between now and the end of the regular campaign to secure a playoff spot for his side.

That could well start at Home Park tonight, as the promotion-seeking Baggies look to pick up their 16th Championship victory of the season already courtesy of some potential Diangana magic.