Baggies suffer further injury setback before of trip to Watford on September 19, 2023.
Watford vs. West Bromwich Albion, Vicarage Road, Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 7.45 p.m.
Albion have had a string of injuries in the striking department in recent months. With Daryl Dike already out until the New Year after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in April, it was confirmed on Tuesday morning that new signing Josh Maja will be out for eight weeks after suffering an ankle injury at Ashton Gate on Saturday in a challenge that arguably should have resulted in a penalty for the Baggies.
With Maja projected to remain sidelined until after the November international break, Carlos Corberán is left with only one senior striker available in Brandon Thomas-Asante. With a glut of midweek fixtures in the coming weeks, the former Sunderland man is certain to miss the next 10 games, despite the fact that there are two international breaks during that time. Corberán will almost certainly need to look at other non-ideal possibilities to bring off the bench to prevent placing too much pressure on the former Salford City striker, with Matt Phillips previously starting one game up front while BTA was absent.
Obviously, Phillips is already proven to be an important component of the squad, so other options must be considered. As a result, Jeremy Sarmiento is expected to receive his chance to start sooner, but the young options have been curtailed when Jovan Malcolm, Rayhaan Tulloch, and Mo Faal were all loaned away. In the next weeks, expect to witness a variety of improvised strikes!
After gaining a point and their first clean sheet of the season against Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City at the weekend, Albion travel to the home of Valérien Ismael’s Watford on Wednesday evening. Slaven Bili, another ex-Baggies boss, was in the dugout during Albion’s last visit.
The Frenchman hasn’t had the same spectacular start to his Watford career as he did at the Hawthorns – Albion were top of the table after the first six games of his tenure two seasons ago, with four wins and two draws – but the Hornets have won two and drawn two of their first six league games, and lost on penalties to League One Stevenage in the Carabao Cup. Both of their wins have come at home, with 4-0 wins over QPR on the first weekend and 2-0 wins over Birmingham City last Saturday. According to The Athletic, the Frenchman is already in negotiations about extending his three-year contract, but it seems exceedingly improbable considering the Pozzo family’s track record with head coaches – Ismaël
The win over Blues at the weekend was especially impressive given that it was John Eustace’s side’s first defeat of the season, so perhaps the team is starting to click under the Frenchman’s unique approach, but Albion fans will inevitably be sceptical of the longer term prospects for an Ismael team given their own experiences. Watford, who were relegated in 2022, have a solid roster, despite the fact that they lost a couple of their stars over the summer, notably Joo Pedro and Ismaela Sarr, which will obviously have reduced their potency. Mileta Rajovi, a Danish striker signed from Swedish club Kalmar, has already scored three goals this season, which has alleviated some of the pressure. Tom Ince was another high-profile addition.
Corberán may be aiming to utilise his squad more in this first three-game week of the season, but Maja’s absence will be a huge setback to those ambitions. However, he has one or two possibilities behind and wide of the centre striker – Sarmiento has been pushing for a start, Diangana is back from injury, and Tom Fellows is another possibility who hasn’t been used this season in the Championship. Furthermore, Alex Mowatt might fill in at number ten if the formation calls for it, though he is more likely to play in central midfield, where Okay and Molumby have been the favoured duo. Corberán has traditionally utilised Chalobah.
