West Brom boss drops double striker indication amid options up top…
Tony Mowbray may not have an embarrassment of riches in his striking department – but he certainly has more options than when he walked through the door.
The Baggies have failed to win their last two Championship games after last weekend’s draw at Millwall, with a more consistent string of positive results required to keep the Black Country outfit in the top six mix.
It hasn’t been plain sailing for Tony Mowbray since taking the West Brom hotseat, with the 61-year-old losing as many games in his opening six matches in charge than Carlos Corberan did throughout the whole of this season he was in charge for – highlighting the struggles the first team squad are having in transitioning to a new style of play.
Frustration has brewed among the Albion faithful over an untimely dip in form, and all the pressure will be on the hosts to earn three points against a team they are expected to have the majority of the ball against.
West Brom remain sixth and a point clear of the play-off chasing pack heading into the weekend, and will be hopeful of victory against an Oxford side who haven’t tasted victory in five league games.
Championship table (as it stands 20th February)
Team
P
GD
Pts
5
Blackburn Rovers
33
8
51
6
West Brom
33
11
48
7
Coventry City
33
3
47
8
Bristol City
33
4
46
9
Sheffield Wednesday
33
-4
45
And FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has had his say on which Baggies player could make all the difference in this second tier meeting.
West Brom fan pundit backs Adam Armstrong to help earn three precious points
Southampton’s Adam Armstrong celebrates with the trophy after winning the Championship Play-Off final
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess has backed Adam Armstrong to showcase his goalscoring exploits once again and help the Baggies on their way to victory, provided Tony Mowbray’s men dominate possession.
Burgess said: “I think Saturday will be one of those games where Albion have a lot of the ball. Oxford will have a good threat on the counter-attack as you would expect from a Gary Rowett side, so he’ll come to The Hawthorns looking to frustrate us.
“We have shown some vulnerabilities when defending on the counter against Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn, so Rowett will be thinking that’s an area to get at Albion.
“With that in mind, they will have to keep a keen eye against Adam Armstrong because his goal against Sheffield Wednesday did show he just needs one half decent chance to find the net at this level.
“They will be hoping not to concede too much possession or a lot of chances when trying to hit us on the break, and they need to be careful as this could be a game Armstrong can grab one or two goals in, so he will definitely be earmarked as a player in a West Bromwich Albion shirt who Oxford will be most concerned about.”
