After five straight wins during the start of Carlos Corberan’s tenure as West Brom coach, a true test of the resolve of his squad would come at their first significant setback – which was provided when a late Viktor Gyokeres penalty for Coventry City sentenced Albion to defeat last week.
The ex-Huddersfield Town boss asked his team to experience that feeling of losing in order to use it as motivation and that – combined with some smart alterations in personnel – saw his side earn a comfortable 2-0 victory at Bristol City.
Although the Robins are going through a tough spell of late, credit must be given to the way the West Midlands outfit controlled large parts of the game, something this current group of players looked incapable of doing under Steve Bruce just a couple of weeks ago.
That maximum moved Corberan’s side to just three points behind the playoff places at the end of second-tier action on Boxing Day, a remarkable achievement for a team who had its fanbase wondering about League One football not so long ago.
After a pair of away outings it is now back to The Hawthorns for the Baggies, a venue where they have won their last three games, with all those results accompanied by clean sheets.
Preston are enduring a Christmas wobble in the Championship after successive defeats at Deepdale and need to get back to winning ways quickly in order to keep up with the playoff positions.
The 2-1 loss to bottom side Huddersfield on Boxing Day might be North End’s most disappointing result of the season to date, especially considering Gregory Cunningham’s first-half header gave Preston the lead at the interval.
Ryan Lowe’s matchday squad has been depleted due to a host of injuries since a return from the World Cup break, and it might be the case that those absences are beginning to take their toll on a team that has been forced to fill its substitutes bench with academy graduates in recent games.
The Lancashire-based club are one of the few sides in the division to be happier when playing on their travels, with Preston collecting 21 points from 11 Championship outings, compared to just 13 points picked up at Deepdale.
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The problem is obvious – Preston’s home form is preventing them from being genuine promotion contenders this season, but with the club now facing successive away matches in the second tier, North End must continue to earn maximums on the road to make up for shortcomings on home soil
West Brom have no fresh injury concerns from the Boxing Day victory in Bristol but are likely to make some changes to freshen up their XI for Thursday night, with Brandon Thomas-Asante pushing for a starting spot after a brilliantly-taken goal at Ashton Gate to secure the points for the Baggies.
Daryl Dike was not at his best last time out, but Albion are a scarier side to face with the American leading the line, although with the 22-year-old’s injury record he may not be risked to start two days in the space of four days.
