West Bromwich Albion will aim to show to the rest of the Championship that they deserve to be in the playoff spaces with a second successive win versus Watford later today.
It will be a tough game for the Baggies away at Tom Cleverley’s Hornets, who aren’t far off the visitors themselves in attempting to make a top six spot their own, but it’s still very much a winnable clash for Carlos Corberan’s men if they perform at their battling best.
Of course, the concern will be that yet another draw pops up next to their name at full-time, having picked up a staggering 11 already from 20 second tier clashes.
But, the Spaniard will just pray more of the same is served up from the Coventry success, with Josh Maja perhaps firing home another Championship strike along the way.
Maja's form this season
The ex-Sunderland striker hasn’t quite been ripping up the league in recent weeks for his side, having now failed to ripple the back of the net in his team’s last four Championship outings.
He did manage to register an assist in West Brom’s enthralling 2-2 draw versus Sheffield United earlier in the month, but the 25-year-old will be chomping at the bit to pick up a goal instead at Vicarage Road if a chance falls to him.
After all, the Baggies number nine hasn’t just fluked his mightily impressive ten strikes, with 1.9 shots on target averaged per league clash showing off his eagerness to constantly test whatever opposition goalkeeper is put in-front of him.
Thankfully – even as he has drawn blanks recently – other attackers have stepped up to the mark, which includes Karlan Grant showing off his goalscoring prowess as a striker in Corberan’s lineups.
Usually thrown into the XI down the channels, the ex-Huddersfield Town man has shone up top in the last couple of games, with the 27-year-old perhaps turning into the club’s next Brandon Thomas-Asante if he can keep up these excellent displays as a centre-forward.
West Brom's new Thomas-Asante
Losing Thomas-Asante in the summer would have hurt, especially when you consider the 5 foot 11 attacker was the club’s top scorer last campaign in league action with 11 next to his name.
Yet, that total doesn’t look that weighty anymore when you work out Maja is only one strike off that amount currently, with his absence also far easier to stomach now when you consider Grant’s resurgence in the ranks.
Capable of putting his 6 foot frame to effective use by chipping in with a header here and there, Grant is also more than content with operating as an entertaining option up top, seen in this sumputous solo effort versus Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues.
That wonderful strike saw Grant’s skills that have seen him star as a dangerous winger in the past come to the forefront – with this goal taking his Championship tally for the season to an ever-growing five – but he is one that can definitely lead the line moving forward as a clinical striking presence when you look at his previously potent numbers from this position.
Position played
Games played
Goals scored
CF
49
14
LW
38
11
LM
7
1
RW
3
0
SS
1
0
AM
1
1
RM
1
0
Although he was predominantly used as a winger out on loan at Cardiff last campaign, his best displays in front of goal for the Baggies have come from the centre-forward position, with 14 strikes tallied up from 49 games justifying Corberan’s recent tweak.
That amount is only seven off Thomas-Asante’s career total at the Hawthorns, with West Brom no longer sad that they lost the 25-year-old, which is only reinforced by the fact he has a worrying one goal for Coventry from 19 league clashes.
The games coming thick and fast in December could see him miss out on the trip to the Hornets unfortunately, with his manager revealing he could be a “doubt” dependent on how well he recovers from fatigue for today’s away day.
Gifted a 9/10 match rating by Birmingham World journalist Charlie Haffenden after his solo strike helped Corberan’s men pick up a 2-0 win over Thomas-Asante’s new employers, Grant will just hope he can add more goals to this season resume at Vicarage Road to keep the victories flowing if he is deemed fit for action.
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