West Brom v Chesterfield - Match preview
Head coach Carlos Corberan has warned his players against becoming the next victims of the magic of the FA Cup.
The Spaniard is very wary of the competition’s upset stories from his time working with Leeds, Huddersfield and now the Baggies.
Albion welcome fifth-tier Chesterfield tonight as the duo prepare for a second bout. The Baggies were almost one of the big stories of third round weekend and almost crashed out in Derbyshire, but for a dramatic Brandon Thomas-Asante equaliser in stoppage time.
Corberan has since remarked on Villa, who were knocked out by Stevenage, Newcastle’s exit to Sheffield Wednesday, Wrexham eliminating Coventry and Blackpool’s victory over Nottingham Forest of examples of how divisions mean little when it comes to the knockout competition.
“Sometimes these types of games help you to understand that you can never relax in football. It doesn’t mean we’re relaxing,” said the head coach. “Chesterfield were doing things very well, and we weren’t doing things well. You have to go to the pitch knowing that you have to compete a lot for the result.
“When you’re in the same competition, in the cup, we were on the same level – we are on different levels, but in the cup you’re in the same competition.
“The respect you need to have for any opponent you face in football is massive. We are watching results.
“Nottingham Forest lost to Blackpool. Sheffield Wednesday beat a Premier League team. Aston Villa lost a game to a team from League Two. Coventry at home lost to a team from the National League.
“This is the magic of the Cup – but we need to avoid the magic of the competition, when we’re playing in it.
“You need to go with the highest level of commitment, of effort and this is what football means. It’s impossible to relax, for any coach in the world, against any team in any type of situation.
“We know that to win games, you have to do a lot of things well.”
Corberan made 11 changes at the Technique Stadium 10 days ago and that decision almost backfired as Chesterfield came within seconds of a famous 3-2 win. Few of Albion’s players did themselves justice that afternoon, but with an eye on a demanding Championship schedule – including Saturday’s hard-fought 3-2 comeback win at Luton and the trip to leaders Burnley on Friday – Corberan will continue to rotate and offer opportunities to squad players.
“Yes I think because it’s an opportunity for the players to show what they can offer to the team,” Coberan said when asked about naming a similar side.
“At the same time you need to see which players arrive in better condition and make a decision on this.
“There are going to be some players who played the first team involved and playing in some of the first 11 too.
“It’s necessary, you need to have a group of 20-22 players ready to compete. Those players will have another opportunity to show that they can help this squad to the level that I think they can.
“It’s true that we have a very demanding week, with three games in less than one week.
“The demands of the first game were very high, the physical demand, the type of action the game demanded and the fact that we were behind meant a lot of effort from the players to go for the game.
“We’ve another cup game, and the players who haven’t played but will play are in a better condition to compete, they haven’t suffered the consequence of a high level of effort.
“It allows us to be competitive, in every single game – I want the team to be competitive tomorrow and on Friday, but the first game is tomorrow and the full focus is on that.”
Corberan will include three youngsters, including forward pair Jovan Malcolm and Reyes Cleary, in his squad tonight due to senior unavailability, with Thomas-Asante (suspended), Karlan Grant (quad), Kenneth Zohore (back) and Daryl Dike (rested) absent.
