Jonny Drury and Lewis Cox preview West Brom's trip to Sheffield Wednesday.
They discuss Carlos Corberan's pre-match press conference and how the Albion chief came prepared.
They also give their take on who will lead the line at Hillsborough on Saturday.
They discuss Carlos Corberan's pre-match press conference and how the Albion chief came prepared.
They also give their take on who will lead the line at Hillsborough on Saturday.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to Expressenstar.com. My name is Jonny Drury. I'm here with a West Brom update alongside
00:13 Albion correspondent Lewis Coxsey this week has been to meet with Carlos Corberan ahead
00:18 of the trip to Sheffield Wednesday as the Baggies look to wrap up their place in the
00:24 Championship playoffs and Coxsey Carlos is always interesting to listen to but there's
00:30 been some very interesting things going on in that press conference this week. He was
00:34 sound like he was prepared when he come into the press conference. Just explain a little
00:38 bit more about that to us. Yeah well I mean he's always prepared but I take your point
00:43 absolutely Jonny. So yeah he what you're referring to there he came in it was actually a Wednesday
00:50 not not breaking any confidence. It was a Wednesday press conference this week. So a
00:54 couple of days ago obviously we've done a few pieces on the back of that since he came
00:59 into the press conference room at the training ground with a piece of paper which is sort
01:04 of I was a bit curious as to what it might be but he got on to explain and there's a
01:10 couple of league tables on there a couple of graphs of yeah of like league standings
01:15 and got on to explaining to us that this is a piece of paper and information he'd showed
01:19 to his players in a meeting a few hours before and it was actually the league relative to
01:27 Sheffield Wednesday's record of late. So it was relative to Sheffield Wednesday's record
01:33 since Danny Roll their head coach was appointed in October and it was the last 25 game. There
01:39 was another table as the last 25 games of the championship season within which the 25
01:46 games Albion's record is seventh best in the division and Sheffield Wednesday's record
01:51 is eighth in the division just three points apart. So that for a consistent playoff side
01:58 against the 21st based I think 21st relegation battling side it's quite interesting I would
02:05 say and paints a picture that look I know Albion haven't been absolutely flawless in
02:09 that in that period but they've been good haven't they as we know. I think it paints
02:12 a picture of a good Sheffield Wednesday side under Danny Roll. I think he's certainly sorted
02:18 them out up there got them got them running fighting harder playing more and got more
02:23 consistent results I think and giving them a chance to stay up and that's that's what's
02:28 on the line obviously for the Owls tomorrow and in their final game obviously this one
02:33 at Hillsborough is the penultimate game. We know what's on the line for Albion. Unfortunately
02:37 they can't mathematically secure a top six place can they Carlos Cobran side tomorrow
02:42 I know you wrote a permutations piece. Well they can until the so if Albion win tomorrow
02:51 Cob failed to win at Blackburn and then Hull failed to win at Ipswich in the eight o'clock
02:57 game. Sorry yes yes yes then it will be done but by five o'clock even if Albion have won
03:02 by five o'clock it's still on the line although there will have to be a massive goal swing
03:08 so it can be all but sewn up by by five o'clock tomorrow. Just on another point Cox in terms
03:13 of team news obviously there's nothing really fresh in terms of players coming back but
03:18 I want to get your opinion on who's going to lead the line tomorrow because we saw Jed
03:22 Wallace up there against Leicester Jed Wallace although he's got his he's had his critics
03:26 I think he's done a very good job up front and there has been games like Leicester and
03:30 Preston earlier in the season and other fixtures where he's done it really well and Albion
03:34 have been successful. Do you see a world where Wallace leads the line tomorrow or does Brandon
03:38 Thomas Sassanti come back in or even does Josh Madger get the nod? I've been thinking
03:44 and seeing a world where Wallace leads the line tomorrow and it's probably what I do
03:50 what I would say is I think there are elements to the game where Wallace starting up front
03:54 makes Albion a click a little bit better and seems to make them play better and be a better
03:59 side however that's not always a given and it seems to me that for example if we're talking
04:05 about a playoff game against the top four top six side semifinals or the final I'd be
04:10 a little bit inclined to see Wallace up front because I think Albion do well against the
04:14 better sides and have done with Wallace leading the line however there'll be those watching
04:20 and listening to this that will want to see a natural out and out striker up top obviously
04:25 Brandon Thomas Sassanti back from his suspension as you say. I just think Albion played so
04:31 well last week and yes Carlos Corbin said to me this week there's an element of Leicester's
04:37 weak areas marrying up with Albion's strong areas I guess at full back and out wide but
04:42 I'd be inclined to sort of keep it as was in that regard and that won't fully happen
04:49 will it because I don't think we'll see Okai Yukushlu in a back three up at Hillsborough
04:54 and MV in his place in midfield I expect the usual sort of return to a back four and two
05:00 four two three one so yeah Carlos Corbin revealed some question marks over Tom Fellows didn't
05:08 he this week over his fitness but I expect Fellows to be fine to be honest it didn't
05:11 seem that serious so my gut is sort of Fellows one side Johnson the other Dean Garner and
05:17 then Wallace leading the line and I could see Thomas Sassanti being on the bench alongside
05:22 obviously the returning Maggia I just think from an attacking perspective the way Albion
05:28 were able to create and hurt a side like Leicester last week stick with it really it seemed to
05:34 work fluently able to penetrate the Foxes back line just time and time again it was
05:41 as creative as we've seen in Albion's side this season so I'd like to see it again to
05:46 be honest I think it will be Wallace but it's a hard call isn't it I can understand the
05:51 arguments for Thomas the fan play and yeah it will be interesting touch wood Albion may
05:57 obviously the playoffs having these debates ahead of those semifinals will be very interesting
06:01 because I think this case is for and against who's up top in those big big you know games
06:06 against the top opposition but an interesting one tomorrow yeah I can see the formation
06:12 sort of reverting to how we come to expect it generally but as I mentioned in the first
06:17 answer we're talking about the piece of paper Carlos bought in and showed us the form of
06:22 Wednesday under their new head coach really good form to be honest yeah over the course
06:27 of a season playoff form similar similar to Albion's really so sold out Hillsborough isn't
06:32 it obviously sold out away allocation again I've read this morning that the the bottom
06:36 end of the Leppings Lane which I don't think he's always open has been opened to I think
06:41 1200 extra home fans so a real boosted home crowd and obviously there's so much on the
06:48 line for them isn't there's so much on the line for Albion clearly it's just a really
06:52 juicy game to be honest and yet another like last week at Leicester and recent away games
06:57 another booming away and there's been great away allocations and capacity crowds following
07:04 I've been around the country of late and I think it's gonna be loud tomorrow isn't it
07:08 Johnny I think we're looking forward to to a trip to Hillsborough Albion fans certainly
07:13 haven't been there in a little while have they because the game in the COVID season
07:17 was behind closed doors the 3-0 win was it so like Leicester haven't been there with
07:22 fans for a little while and I think the travelling baggies will enjoy it in South Yorkshire but
07:26 obviously only if their side get a result and I don't think it's gonna be easy for a
07:29 second I think it's gonna be a proper blood and thunder game but hopefully the one the
07:35 baggies can come out on the right side of and wouldn't it be nice as we're driving back
07:39 down back down the country on Saturday night to hear the hear the right results coming
07:44 elsewhere and for Albion's job to be sort of sewn up ahead of that final day against
07:49 Preston because we don't want any extra unnecessary nerves to hit the whole phones in a week's
07:55 time so yeah looking forward to it.