West Bromwich Albion will try to make amends for the frustrating loss they incurred at the hands of a revived Southampton team last week. Given their comfortable home form, the loss was quite shocking and Pulis will have a bigger challenge this time as they welcome Liverpool.
Liverpool haven’t won at the Hawthorns since October 2011 and the Baggies haven’t won against the Reds in their last seven games. Hence, we are largely expecting a draw when these two meet.
Defence
Ben Foster will take his place under the bar. The 34-year-old had a hard luck against Southampton as his side went down by a goal despite the English international producing some fine saves to keep the Baggies in the game until the last minute.
Tony Pulis is expected to stick with his back four that lost to Southampton. That back line has played together for long now and are stubborn enough to hold off Liverpool’s attack. Allan Nyom is expected to take his position in the left-back with Craig Dawson on the other side. Pulis would expect his full-backs to stop the threats of Phillipe Coutinho and Sadio Mane.
The central defensive pairing would be that of Jonny Evans and Gareth McAuley. The aged duo is definitely not on a level with the work rate Roberto Firmino will bring upon them, but Pulis would be happy to sit back and defend for the full 90 minutes against the Reds.
Without a doubt, Albion’s biggest threat will be from set pieces and McAuley plays a quintessential role in it. The 37-year-old centre-half is Albion’s second highest scorer till now scoring six goals.
Midfield
The Wales manager opted for less protection against the Saints as he deployed Jake Livermore as the single pivot with four attacking midfielders to get the goals. It is unlikely to be the case this time. With Liverpool coming at full throttle, we expect Albion skipper Darren Fletcher to drop down alongside Livermore and provide an extra cushion to the backline, which is expected to endure all 90 minutes.
James Morrison will keep his position in the number 10 role alongside Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips. Chadli will have the major responsibility of unlocking Liverpool’s defence from the right flank, and chip in crosses for their towering centre-forward to find the net.
Attack
The attack will be spearheaded by Salomon Rondon. The Venezuela international has often been seen this season as the only player in the opponent’s attacking third.
