Following a hectic Christmas period that returned six points from a quartet of second-tier fixtures, West Brom fielded five academy graduates in their starting XI for the third-round clash with National League outfit Aldershot at
The Hawthorns on Sunday afternoon, with Jovan Malcolm and Tom Fellows bagging goals for the hosts in a routine 4-1 success.While youngsters Caleb Taylor and Fent Heard impressed last time out, it was American striker
Daryl Dike who stole the headlines with a goal during his first taste of competitive football since April 2023, with the 23-year-old returning from a serious Achilles setback to put Albion three goals ahead inside 27 minutes.Carlos
Corberan knows that his side’s December period was not perfect by any means as West Brom tasted defeat against Leicester City, Sunderland and Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough, but the Baggies remain fifth in the Championship standings, three points
ahead of a sixth-placed Hull City side who have recently added Liverpool’s Fabio Carvalho on loan for the remainder of the term.Albion’s form at The Hawthorns so far in 2023-24 has been very impressive, with the Black Country outfit collecting 27 points from their 13 home league
outings, a record that can only be bested by the division’s top four: Leicester, Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leeds United.Despite walking a financial tightrope as the club attempt to move away from the shady
ownership of Guochuan Lai, Corberan is hoping to add some quality in wide areas during the January transfer window, especially following the decision of Brighton & Hove Albion to recall Ecuador international Jeremy Sarmiento.
Despite having the division’s top goalscorer within their ranks, Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men are currently occupying 17th position in the second-tier standings, eight points behind Michael Beale’s Sunderland in sixth and 10
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points better off compared to 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday.Rovers have acted decisively in the loan market during the early stages of this month’s window to improve their squad, recruiting Aston Villa’s Benjamin
Chrisene and Brighton’s Yasin Ayari, with the latter failing to nail down a spot at Coventry City in the first half of the campaign due to the return of fans’ favourite Callum O’Hare.There have also been some notable outgoings from
Ewood Park in January, with midfielder Lewis Travis joining promotion-chasing Ipswich on a temporary deal, while James Hill’s time in Lancashire was cut short following Bournemouth’s decision to recall the right-footed defender.
