West Brom are set to clash with Leicester City at the Hawthorns Stadium on Saturday evening Alan Pardew’s men stay hopeful of a relegation escape. The Baggies are staged at the bottom of the Premier League table, 7 points behind Stoke City and Crystal Palace.
With just 9 games left in the season, Pardew will have to work out a miracle to bridge the gap and successfully dig the team out of the bottom three. This fixture will be a monumental task against a team who are placed in the 8th seed of the points table.
The Foxes have undergone a season of multiple ups and downs but overall has improved upon their 12th place last season finish. Ever since they won the league 2 seasons back, their chances of a title challenge have been questionable.
However, Claude Puel has instilled a bit of stability into the squad and with Arsenal dredging along the season in poor form, hopes of a European qualification spot cannot be ruled out completely.
Albion’s chances of getting some points in this fixture will be favoured since City are currently on a 5-game winless streak. The last time these two sides met in the league was back in October and the match had ended 1-1 at the King Power Stadium.
A draw might not be enough for Pardew whose job is on the line. Here is how the former Newcastle boss might field his team on match day.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
Ben Foster is the best choice in between the sticks for the manager and he is expected to get the nod in this matchup.
The 34-year-old might get shielded by the centre-half pairing of Ahmed Hegazi and Jonny Evans. Allan-Romeo Nyom might provide cover from the right and Kieran Gibbs from the left.
Midfield
Grzegorz Krychowiak and Jake Livermore should look to take over the holding midfield roles. The duo will have to outwork the Saints packed midfield in order to come away with the win at the Hawthorns. Sam Field can look to make a return to the starting XI by featuring in the attacking midfield position.
Attack
Matt Phillips was one of the brightest sparks in recent weeks. His services from the wide areas have been lethal for opposing teams and are always favoured by the striker force of either Salomon Rondon or Hal Robson Kanu.
With Phillips on the right, Jay Rodriguez can take over the left wing position and Rondon fielded as the centre-forward.
