“A massive hole” - Carlos Corberan urged to take West Brom action v Preston | OneFootball

West Brom fan pundit Callum expects Darnell Furlong to come straight back into the XI at Preston.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan has been told to bring Darnell Furlong straight back into the XI for the trip to Preston North End on Saturday.

Albion are on a run of one win in ten games, and they’ve incredibly drawn seven of their last eight, which includes picking up a very creditable point at Sunderland in the week.

Corberan’s men left the Stadium of Light with a draw despite enduring a difficult defensive situation, with Semi Ajayi out, Kyle Bartley only able to play 45 minutes, and they also had to do without Furlong.

The latter had picked up his fifth booking of the season just days before against Norwich, so he was suspended, with Mason Holgate operating from the right side of the defence in his absence.

Darnell Furlong expected to come back into West Brom XI

However, Furlong is available for the trip to Deepdale, and when asked by FLW if he would make any changes for the game at Preston, fan pundit Callum explained why bringing the first-choice right-back straight back into the side is a no-brainer for the manager.

He said: “I think Tuesday’s fixture against Sunderland emphasised the importance that Darnell Furlong has to this team, especially with no recognised deputy in his position.

“I think there was a massive hole in the team at Sunderland, and you could see how much of a loss he was to the team, with Mason Holgate having to fill in out wide at right-back, and sometimes Tom Fellows would drop in as a wing-back.

“Thankfully, Furlong’s injury record is excellent, as he is consistently available. So, Furlong would be back in the team against Preston.

“The next decision would be whether it’s Holgate to start at centre-back alongside Torbjorn Heggem, or whether it’s Kyle Bartley, who was only able to play 45 minutes in the week after coming back from knee surgery.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Holgate starts again, and Bartley comes on as a substitute if we’re winning, to help us see out the game.

“So, that’s the change I would make, and Uros Racic might come in for Jayson Molumby. He did come on at centre-back at Sunderland, but he may be an option to partner Alex Mowatt. Other than that, I don’t expect many changes, especially in attack.”

West Brom need to get back on track at Preston

Furlong has been a reliable performer since Corberan took over, and he was only missing through suspension, so most would agree that bringing him back into the side is an easy choice.

As well as that, as outlined above, Albion don’t really have a natural right-back as cover, so you could argue he is one of the first names on the teamsheet.

His return will be very welcome considering the makeshift defence that went out against Sunderland, but, to Corberan’s credit, the side still defended well and picked up a point.

Whilst that was a good result in isolation, it does continue a worrying trend where the Baggies haven’t been winning enough games, and they have dropped out of the play-off places as a result.

So, they need to get back on track, and even though Preston are a resolute outfit under Paul Heckingbottom, they will see this as a great opportunity to pick up three points and to get back into the top six.