Upon appointing Carlos Corberan as their new head coach, optimism was naturally on the rise at West Bromwich Albion ahead of their meeting with an out-of-form Sheffield United side on Saturday afternoon.
However, West Brom again under-performed, finding themselves 2-0 down at the break and unable to recover as the Blades ensured that their hosts remained on two wins from 17 Championship fixtures during 2022-23.
Although there is the expectation that the Baggies will eventually move out of trouble, they now sit in last place and as many as five points adrift of 20th-placed Wigan Athletic, an indication that they could get cut adrift if they continue to struggle for victories.
While West Brom have conceded no more than twice in any of their last six outings, there is a lack of cutting edge and balance to their performances, and facing an in-form Blackpool outfit has arguably come at the wrong time.
The West Midlands outfit are also without a win at The Hawthorns since August 20, a run which has now been extended to six matches.
Blackpool have recently transformed into one of the most entertaining teams in the second tier, something which may not necessarily be intentional given the pressure to move away from the bottom three.
Nevertheless, at a time when their last five fixtures have featured 23 goals, the Seasiders have also collected 10 points from a possible 15, moving the club into 15th position in the table.
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Their latest success came at Coventry, Blackpool overturning a half-time deficit to prevail by a 2-1 scoreline courtesy of goals from Gary qMadine and Jerry Yates.
At some point, Michael Appleton will want to see his side improve on a period of just four clean sheets in 17 matches, but that may not be seen as imperative in their next fixture as they try to continue to produce the formula which led to win Watford, Preston North End and the Sky Blues.
Corberan will inevitably make alterations to his West Brom starting lineup with John Swift among the players pushing for a recall.Either Swift or Jayson Molumby should come into the midfield, while Brandon Thomas-Asante appears to be in line to return down the centre of the attack.
