Football League World
·22 November 2024
Football League World
·22 November 2024
Albion will face a tough test against the Canaries this weekend, according to their boss.
Carols Corberan has warned that West Bromwich Albion "will suffer" if they don't perform well against Norwich City.
The Baggies look set for another battle for the play-off places this season. They haven't caught the headlines as much as others have, but they've been ticking over quietly, accruing 25 points from their first 15 games.
They take on a fellow play-off team from last season this weekend: Norwich. The Canaries have undergone a much more drastic transformation than Albion have over the summer, but they will consider themselves to be in the hunt too.
West Brom will face a depleted City side. Potent striker Josh Sargent will miss the game, as will Chilean international Marcelino Nunez. They do have some key players returning - Angus Gunn, Ashley Barnes, Callum Doyle and Shane Duffy are all available to face the Albion.
Even with some of their opponent's key absences, Corberan has sent a warning to his team about the danger that Johannes Hoff Thorup's side pose.
The Spanish boss has reiterated the quality of team that West Brom are up against this weekend. He believes that his players will need to do all the key facets of the game right in order to not "suffer."
He told the club's website: "Small details affect where you are positioned in the table. Norwich start the latest round of fixtures in the bottom half of the division but only a few points separate so many teams.
"They’re a team who have hit the woodwork seven times this season, which is the joint-highest in the division. What does that mean? That means that, perhaps, they could have had seven more wins, or four wins more and three more draws.
"I see Norwich coming up against the same challenges that we have been and will keep on facing throughout the season. The Championship is so difficult and they arrive at The Hawthorns having not won in any of their last six. This does not mean they are a bad team, it means they have had some difficulties in recent weeks, as every team will in this division.
"Norwich are one team who usually have about 60 per cent of the ball in games. They’ve dominated possession even in recent matches when they have lost.
"They’re built to attack and they’re built to press. If we don’t break the press, we will suffer. If we don’t defend well and attack well, we will suffer. It’s not going to be an easy challenge.
"No game is easy to win in this league, but no game is impossible to win."
Albion have been given a slight boost ahead of the contest, with Gianluca Fabrotta available for selection. Kyle Bartley, however, will not be ready for the visit from the Norfolk side, Corberan confirmed.
Even though we are more than a quarter of the way through this Championship season, the table does still lie a little bit about the quality of some teams. The congested lower-mid table means that a team like Norwich, or even Coventry City, who are expected to challenge for the top six spots, are down by the relegation zone.
It'll only take a few good results for the Canaries to be right back amongst it. Corberan, based on his words, is looking past what the league table shows and is taking his opponent on their merits.