West Bromwich Albion will look to defend their unbeaten home record with a third consecutive victory at The Hawthorns when they play host to Cardiff City on Saturday. Cardiff themselves are unbeaten in seven league games after losing two of their first three. Although they are yet to win any of their five games on the road.
West Bromwich Albion’s Striker Uncertainty
Last Time Out: West Bromwich Albion
Ezgjan Alioski scored the only goal as Leeds United ended West Brom’s unbeaten start to the Championship season; replacing them at the top of the table. A fortunate deflection off the right boot of Albion defender Kyle Bartley saw Leeds edge a competitive first period.
West Brom came out strong after the break. They proceeded to control the game at Elland Road like very few visiting sides have done recently. Leeds were forced to dig deep as the Baggies played some fantastic football around them but Slaven Bilić’s side couldn’t force an equaliser.
Last Time Out: Cardiff City
Cardiff City maintained their unbeaten home record in the Championship as they flexed their muscles against Queens Park Rangers. Rangers dominated the possession stats. But it was a clinical display from the Bluebirds who finally found the ruthless touch boss Neil Warnock has called for.
Despite having less than 30% possession, Cardiff were worthy winners on Wednesday night and moved up to 10th, just two points outside the play-offs. Neil Warnock’s side are slowly building momentum after struggling to find a winning consistency in the opening weeks with four draws in their previous six matches.
Albion’s Striker Uncertainty
West Bromwich Albion endured a summer of uncertainty surrounding their striker roles after the departure of Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez. Tasked with replacing 45 league goals, the Baggies knew this would be a tough ask. With just Hal Robson-Kanu as their only senior striker, in came Kenneth Zohore from Cardiff and Charlie Austin from Southampton.
After 10 league games, West Brom are the third-highest scorers in the division with 17 goals – only Preston North End and Fulham have more with 18. This would suggest that their ambition of striker replacement has been successful, but that is not the case.
Albion’s 17 goals are shared between eight different goal scorers, 10 have come from midfield, four from winger Matt Phillips. Of West Brom’s striking options, only Zohore has found the net in the league, both from the penalty spot. Their talented midfielders have covered for the fact that the Baggies haven’t yet found the right man to lead the line, something Bilić will be eager to fix.
Kenneth Zohore
One of the men looking to fix Bilić’s striker problem is Kenneth Zohore who joined West Brom in the summer. He moved to The Hawthorns from Cardiff following three years at the Club. Zohore scored 12 goals in 29 appearances in the 2016/17 season and was the Club’s top goalscorer. And, he earned the Young Player of the Year award at the end of the season.
In the following league campaign, his nine goals helped the Bluebirds to return to the top flight as they finished in second place on the 2017/18 Championship league table. Having made 19 league appearances for Cardiff in the 2018/19 season. The Danish striker later joined the Baggies, where he has since scored two goals in eight appearances for the club, both from the penalty spot. There is no doubt that he would love to bag his third of the season at the expense of his former employers.
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