West Bromwich Albion will begin life under the new management of Carlos Corberan on Saturday, when they welcome Sheffield United to the Hawthorns.
The new boss's appointment was confirmed on Tuesday with the Baggies sat 23rd in the Championship table, while their visitors have dropped to fifth spot having failed to win any of their last six league outings.
Match preview
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With their sights set on winning promotion back to the Premier League, West Bromwich Albion experienced an unexpectedly poor start to the Championship season and currently find themselves 23rd with only Huddersfield Town collecting fewer than the 14 points they have managed in 16 outings.
The struggles came under Steve Bruce, who departed earlier in October after a goalless draw at home to Luton, which left them on just 11 points from 13 games, having only managed one victory in that time.
The Baggies did begin life under the temporary stewardship of Richard Beale with a 2-0 win away at Reading, thanks to goals from Matt Phillips and Taylor Gardner-Hickman, but they were unable to build a winning run on the back of that triumph, suffering 2-0 and 2-1 defeats to Bristol City and Millwall respectively in their last two outings.
They looked set to take a point away from home in the latter, as the sides were tied at a goal apiece heading into injury time after John Swift's opener was cancelled out and Kyle Bartley was shown a late red card, but the Baggies were denied a share of the spoils as Tyler Burey netted a 90th-minute winner, and as a result, Corberan now inherits a side who have just 13 points from 16 league outings and sit three points adrift of 21st-placed Middlesbrough.
He will look to begin his tenure with a victory on Saturday and kickstart a climb up the division in the coming months as they welcome a Sheffield United side who are also struggling for form.
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At the end of September, Saturday's visitors looked set to be one of the Championship's dominant forces throughout the campaign, sitting at the summit of the division heading into the international break with 23 points from 10 games, having picked up seven victories and only suffered one defeat.
They have not continued their fine form since returning to action this month, though, now in the midst of a six-game winless run, having only managed three points in that time and dropped to fifth spot as a result.
Following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City, Paul Heckingbottom's side managed to snatch a point in an eventual 3-3 draw with nine-man Blackpool, thanks to Oliver Norwood's equaliser deep into injury time, before being beaten 1-0 away at strugglers Coventry City in the following encounter as a late Martyn Waghorn penalty made the difference despite a dominant Blades performance.
Vying to get back to winning ways, the South Yorkshire outfit most recently took on a Norwich City side who are also struggling for form at the top end of the division, and after going two goals down at Bramall Lane through a Teemu Pukki brace, they managed to draw level thanks to goals from Ben Osborn and Oli McBurnie, with Adam Davies ensuring they took a share of the spoils as he denied Pukki a hat-trick from the penalty spot late on.
Having seen their standing in the promotion fight weakened slightly since the international break, the Blades will be keen to bounce back on Saturday and return to the form they displayed in the early stages of the campaign to climb back towards the top two.
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We are yet to see how Corberan will line up his new side, but he will be unable to call on experienced defender Kyle Bartley, who is suspended after being sent off against Millwall last week, likely leaving Dara O'Shea and Erik Pieters to partner up at the heart of a back four in the continued absence of Semi Ajayi.
Karlan Grant should continue to lead the line with support from summer signings Jed Wallace and John Swift, who put them ahead against Millwall with his third league goal of the season, while Grady Diangana is pushing to return to the starting XI on the left wing.
Jayson Molumby and Tom Rogic also made substitute appearances in that game and will be fighting to start in midfield, with Okay Yokuslu bound to keep his place in the engine room.
Sheffield United continue to be disrupted by an unenviable injury list, with key man Sander Berge out of action alongside left-backs Enda Stevens, Max Lowe and Rhys Norrington-Davies, as well as the likes of Jayden Bogle, Ciaran Clark and Jack O'Connell, while Adam Davies will continue to deputise in goal as Wes Foderingham serves the final game of a three-match suspension.
In the absence of three contenders for the left wing-back role, Ben Osborn will again occupy that position after getting on the scoresheet last time out, while Jack Robinson will be pushing for a first start of the season in the back three, having recently returned to fitness alongside midfielder John Fleck and striker Billy Sharp.
Both of those may drop back to the bench for Saturday's trip, though, with Tommy Doyle expected to displace Fleck and join Oliver Norwood in midfield and Oli McBurnie set to lead the line alongside Iliman Ndiaye, having come off the bench to hit his sixth Championship goal of the campaign last weekend.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, O'Shea, Pieters, Townsend; Yokuslu, Molumby; Wallace, Swift, Diangana; Grant
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Davies; Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Basham; Baldock, Doyle, Norwood, Osborn; Brewster, Ndiaye; McBurnie
We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Sheffield United
The change in management should act as somewhat of a boost for West Brom, and they meet Sheffield United at a good time, but we see the Blades having enough to at least return to South Yorkshire with a share of the spoils and predict a low-scoring draw.
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Sam Varley
