Championship

West Brom: Joseph Masi discusses the ‘ridiculous’ lineup that the Baggies could field this weekend

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Image for West Brom: Joseph Masi discusses the ‘ridiculous’ lineup that the Baggies could field this weekend

West Brom-focused journalist Joseph Masi recently appeared on The Express and Star’s ‘Baggies Broadcast’ podcast where he discussed the lineup that the Baggies could field this weekend in their upcoming Championship clash with Birmingham City

The Baggies are set to compete in their first Championship game since 7th March this Saturday when they take on the Blues and during a recent appearance on the Baggies Broadcast podcast, Masi talked about the formation that he believes West Brom might play in this game. 

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Masi said: “In the first four months of the campaign, they were brilliant in that 4-2-3-1 system, they were so attacking and beautiful to watch, but it did feel around December time, they got sussed out a little bit, it did feel like a change was needed.

“[Slaven] Bilic went to 4-3-3, [Filip] Krovinovic obviously came in, shone in the middle of the park alongside Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore, [and] really grew in stature with every passing week.”

The journalist then goes on to declare that he “would expect” the Baggies to line up in a 4-3-3 shape again this weekend.

Meanwhile, as per Birmingham Live, Grady Diangana, who “was unavailable” to Bilic before the postponement of the 2019/20 Championship season back in March, is now fit and training with the rest of the squad, and with the knowledge that Diangana is now fit, Masi did speculate that this could have an impact on how the Baggies line up. 

He said: “A 4-2-3-1 with a three of Callum Robinson on the left, Matheus Pereira as a ‘10’ and Grady Diangana on the right – I know Grady Diangana has played on the left for Albion since he joined on loan, but he did play on the right at times for West Ham – he’s just as comfortable on the right as he is on the left. So, Robinson, Pereira, Diangana, to me, that is ridiculous.”

Masi then follows up on this by saying: “To me, Robinson, Diangana and Pereira are all Premier League players. So, to have those three, it must be tempting for Bilic to revert to a 4-2-3-1 and have all those three in.”

Do you think that Matheus Pereira, Callum Robinson, and Grady Diangana will all start this weekend?

YES, I THINK SO

YES, I THINK SO

NO, I DON'T THINK SO

NO, I DON'T THINK SO

TIF Thoughts…

According to WhoScored, Robinson, Diangana, and Pereira are three of the Baggies’ four highest-rated players in the Championship this season. Robinson joined the club on loan on 29th January and prior to the Championship’s postponement, Diangana had been out of action since suffering an injury against Stoke City on 20th January. 

With that in mind, the prospect of seeing these three players playing alongside one another for the first time may excite Baggies fans, as well as the club’s manager.

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