, Three things we learnt about West Brom following FA Cup defeat to Newcastle United

Three things we learnt about West Brom following FA Cup defeat to Newcastle United

West Bromwich Albion narrowly lost to Premier League side Newcastle United in Tuesday evening’s fifth-round FA Cup tie at the Hawthorns.

Albion were defeated 3-2 by Steve Bruce’s men but despite facing top-flight opposition they pushed their opponents and could have taken the game to extra time.

Baggies boss Slaven Bilic made nine changes for the encounter highlighting where his priorities lie and knowing promotion is the ultimate aim whilst Steve Bruce named a strong line-up for the trip to the Midlands.

Here we take a look at three things we learnt about West Brom following the encounter:

THE FIRST TEAM WILL BE COMPETITIVE IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Tuesday evening Slaven Bilic made nine changes with only Dara O’Shea and Rekeem Harper retaining their place in the starting XI. There was also no place for Semi Ajayi, Jake Livermore, Sam Johnstone, Hal Robson-Kanu and Matheus Pereira even amongst the substitutes. With Bilic rotating his squad there were a whole host of first-team regulars missing yet they still competed with Newcastle which will be a positive for the Midlands side. Should they have been able to field a stronger team if not for their league exertions they may well have found themselves in the quarter-finals of the competition. If they do win promotion and with a few quality additions there is no reason they couldn’t be competitive next season.

TWO VETERANS ARE PAST THEIR PRIME

Bilic opted to start with Gareth Barry and Chris Brunt in midfield but the decision backfired. Barry has been an outstanding player for over two decades and Brunt has been a fantastic servant to West Brom but this game showed just why Bilic chose to select Harper to replace Romaine Sawyers and not one of the two veterans. They looked off the pace and gave the ball away on occasions and their lack of energy really showed here against the likes of Longstaff, Bentaleb and Almiron. It is almost certain that Barry will retire at the end of the season and Brunt has confirmed he will most likely be leaving the club he has been with for the last 13 years and it may just be the right time for their departures.

CROATIAN PLAYMAKER MUST BE LOOKED AT ON A PERMANENT DEAL

Despite Bilic resting many of his first-team regulars he did have Filip Krovinovic to call upon from the bench and the Croatian showed his quality when he came off the bench for the home side. He showed an array of good touches on the ball and drove the team forward which was something that had been lacking before his introduction. Krovinovic is on a season-long loan deal from Benfica but the impressive performances he has displayed in recent weeks means he must be edging closer to a permanent deal should one be agreed with his parent club.

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