Preview | West Bromwich Albion (A)
The Game
West Bromwich Albion v Argyle. The Hawthorns. Saturday, 21 September. 3pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
West Brom sit on top of the Championship table after five games, with four wins and one draw. They began with a 3-1 win at Queens Park Rangers, before a goalless draw at home to Leeds United. A 2-1 win at Stoke City followed, before a 1-0 win at home to Preston North End and a 3-0 win on the road at Portsmouth.
The Gaffer
Carlos Corberan took over at the Hawthorns with Albion in the relegation spots in October 2022. He steadied the ship and took the Baggies to ninth by the season’s end. Last season, he turned that into a fifth-place finish, with Albion losing in the play-off semi-finals to Southampton.
As a player, Corberan only played at semi-professional level, having failed to make the grade at Valencia. He started his coaching career as a fitness coach at Villarreal and at several teams in Saudi Arabia, including Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo's current side, where he rose to the role of assistant manager.
Corberan left in November 2016, bound for Cyprus, where he managed Doxa and Ermis. In 2017, he moved to England to be Leeds United's Under-23s coach, and his roles would soon include first-team coaching duties too, under Marcelo Bielsa.
He left Leeds in the summer of 2020, but stayed in Yorkshire, heading to manage Huddersfield Town. After finishing 20th in his first season, he guided Huddersfield to third in his second, losing in the play-offs. He resigned soon after, then joined Olympiacos, but was sacked after 11 games. He was named West Brom manager a month later.
The Squad
Remarkably, West Brom have played the same starting 11 in all five league games this season.
The eye-catching name in the Albion squad is Josh Maja (below), with five goals from his five league games this season. Maja scored a hat-trick in the season opener against QPR, then also notched again in the away games at Stoke and Portsmouth. The 25-year-old forward signed for West Brom in the summer of 2023, but hardly played last season because of injury. He has previously been at Sunderland and Bordeaux.
Alex Mowatt is on two goals, having scored both against Portsmouth last time out. The 29-year-old played more than 100 times for Leeds and for Barnsley, before signing for Albion in 2021. After falling out of favour and spending 2022/23 on loan at Middlesbrough, Mowatt played all but three league games last season.
Ireland international midfielder Jayson Molumby, 25, has one goal, having bagged against Swansea City. The other goalscorer is former Cardiff and Huddersfield attacking midfielder Karlan Grant, who scored the Baggies’ opener at Stoke City.
Last Season’s Meetings
Argyle drew 0-0 at The Hawthorns in October, playing really well in a spirited display, but Albion were too good for the Pilgrims in the return match at Home Park in February, winning 3-0 with goals from Cedric Kipre, Michael Johnston and Tom Fellows.
Tickets
Tickets are no longer available to buy for this match.
Any uncollected tickets will be available on the day at West Brom from the Ticket Office on the East Stand from 1pm.
Miles Away Coach Travel is sold out for this match. The coaches will leave from outside of the Babcock Devonport End at 8am.
A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will wear their yellow third kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 10am, with the Argyle Breakfast show, hosted by Erin Black and Aaron Cusack. They will bring you build-up, interviews, guests and features from the Argyle TV studio, until midday.
Charlie Price and Katie Middleton will be live from 2.30pm for the pre-match show, before handing over to the ground for commentary provided by Rob McNichol and Darren Way.
Match passes to watch this game are only available to international audiences – though domestic audiences can listen to the live audio commentary. Click here for more information.
