West Brom v Norwich - Match preview

Heading up to the North East on Saturday, Albion were sitting in a healthy position as they headed into the four-game festive period.

Carlos Corberan has managed to help navigate his side into fifth place in the table, and they travelled to Teesside knowing that they would be sitting in the play-off places coming Christmas Day.

But the situation looks a little bit different as Albion now welcome Norwich City to The Hawthorns, with the resurgent Canaries able to leapfrog the hosts if they can take all three points.

And the feeling heading into these back-to-back home games is a little different to what it was pre-Boro, although there are some caveats to contend with.

Aside from the opening 40 or so minutes at the Riverside, Albion were woefully under par both defensively and going forward.

You could argue that other than the first 45 minutes of opening game at Blackburn, it was Albion’s worst half of football this season.

But what was that down to?

Post match, Baggies boss Corberan raised question marks around aspects of his side’s performance in the second half.

A lack of quality, a lack of aggression and a lack of energy – and it is hard to disagree with any of those observations.

They were carved open time and time again, while in possession the quality and the creativity that we have seen in weeks gone by just wasn’t there.

There are different aspects to look at when analysing a performance that was so below par, and one angle you have to look at is the options Corberan has available to change and tweak things.

Again, Brandon Thomas-Asante is the only fit striker at the club and aside from being able to play Jed Wallace through the middle, Corberan’s hands are as good as tied.

In an ideal world, Corberan would have liked to have included John Swift from the start, but would his presence from the off made a huge difference? Potentially.

When you looked at the bench and the options he had to bring on, only Swift and Tom Fellows are able to offer any attacking threat.

After that you are looking at a right-back in Pipa, who is being used more as a winger. However, even though the lack of options to change things does put more pressure and onus on those who are playing the majority of the time, you still have to churn out a performance.

At times on Teesside it looked as though the home side just wanted it more than Albion.

When you stack up the sides on paper, Albion should arguably have had enough quality to get something.

They just simply didn’t turn up in the second half and, granted, at times that happens.

But one thing is for sure, if they want to stay in the play-off places by the time the New Year comes around, they need to turn up today.

Corberan was coy on whether he will make any changes for Norwich, but it is safe to assume that he will because of the tight turnaround of games.

So what options does he have?

The only option up top is to put Wallace through the middle and leave out Thomas-Asante, something the Baggies boss has tended to do more away from home.

Given the performances of Jeremy Sarmiento and Grady Diangana in the last two games, it could well be the case Fellows comes in for the start many fans have been craving.

Another option to shake things up is going back to a 4-3-3 and playing Swift on one side of Wallace, if the playmaker is given the all clear to start at The Hawthorns.

Okay Yokuslu was taken off 20 minutes from time at the Riverside, potentially with Boxing Day in mind, so it is highly likely he will retain his place.

And the other selection decision that could face Corberan is what he does with his full-backs?

It was a below-par day for Darnell Furlong, so could this be an opportunity, with a busy calendar of games, to give Pipa his full Hawthorns bow?

On the other side, Conor Townsend endured a particularly tough afternoon at Boro and with both Adam Reach and Erik Pieters in the squad, that could be an area where Corberan could rotate.

Whatever side he puts out, the performance needs to drastically improve from their pre-Christmas showing.

And with the play-off chasing pack of a handful of teams breathing right down their necks, a win to go hand in hand with that would be very timely.