West Bromwich Albion have enjoyed a fine start to this Championship season having amassed 33 points from 16 games and with only one defeat to their name so far.
One of the main reasons for their fantastic form has been a settled starting XI with manager Slaven Bilic not opting to make wholesale changes for any game however, for their next league game against Sheffield Wednesday, Bilic will be forced to shuffle the pack.
In their last outing against Hull City, midfield duo Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers both picked up their fifth bookings of the season and are now suspended for the visit of the Owls.
Here we take a look at three new midfield combinations that Slaven Bilic has at his disposal for their next fixture:
CHRIS BRUNT AND FILIP KROVINOVIC
Bilic could opt to bring in experienced veteran Chris Brunt as the player who can offer protection to the back four whilst still offering a wide range of passing with his left foot still deadly even at the age of 34-years-old. He hasn’t seen much action so far this campaign due to the form of Sawyers and Livermore. His defensive capabilities alongside the more creative flair of Filip Krovinovic who has had to make do with a place on the bench in the last couple of months due to the form of Matheus Pereira could be the ideal combination.
SEMI AJAYI AND FILIP KROVINOVIC
A duo of Semi Ajayi and the Croatian Krovinovic is another alternative to Bilic but this combination would force him into another change in defence. When Ahmed Hegazi returned from injury it was thought he would come straight back into the team but due to the form of Bartley and Ajayi this simply hasn’t been the case. Ajayi is well known for being a good passer of the ball from his time at Rotherham United and is no stranger to a defensive midfield role. Once again, alongside Krovinovic who can offer more of an attacking threat, this could prove to be a good partnership.
CHRIS BRUNT AND SEMI AJAYI
Probably the least likely option that Bilic could choose would be for Chris Brunt to partner Semi Ajayi. The manager could bring Hegazi into defence to allow Ajayi to move forward into midfield and alongside Chris Brunt there would be a good protection for the back four however, there may be some creativity lacking in the middle of the park. Against a good team like Sheffield Wednesday, Bilic may think including Krovinovic as well as the four attacking players ahead of him may leave the Baggies a little too open.
