Coming off the back of consecutive victories, West Bromwich Albion will give their promotion credentials the ultimate test when they welcome Leicester City to The Hawthorns on Saturday lunchtime in the Championship.

The Baggies produced a gritty performance to squeeze past Cardiff City in the week, while the Foxes were denied maximum points by a late Sheffield Wednesday equaliser at Hillsborough.

Match preview

West Brom made it five wins from their last six matches in the Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Cardiff City Stadium against Erol Bulut's Bluebirds on Tuesday night, with Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Jeremy Sarmiento providing the only moment of quality in the contest, curling in a sensational long-range effort.

After the impressive 2-0 win at home to high-flying Ipswich Town, Carlos Corberan was brave in altering his XI for the trip to South Wales, with Ecuador international Sarmiento and leading goalscorer John Swift replacing Brandon Thomas-Asante and the always-reliable Matt Phillips in the side.

As discussions between two interested parties and the club intensify over the potential change of ownership in the Black Country, the Baggies are going about their business on the pitch with distinction and currently sit fifth in the second-tier standings, four points ahead of Jon Dahl Tomasson's Blackburn Rovers in seventh.

Tuesday night's shutout at Cardiff was Albion's ninth in 18 Championship matches, and plenty of credit needs to be given by goalkeeper Alex Palmer and centre-back Cedric Kipre, who have both worked their way into Corberan's preferred XI and are now some of the first names on the teamsheet.

The Baggies are unbeaten in their last six matches at The Hawthorns - conceding just once over that period - and have collected 20 points from nine home contests, with only Kieran McKenna's Ipswich, Leeds United and Saturday's visitors faring better in front of their home faithful.

Heading to bottom side Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night, Leicester head coach Enzo Maresca warned his team of complacency and drifting through the Hillsborough contest, but his side did not fully take on his advice, with the Foxes being forced to share the spoils after an added-time equaliser from Jeff Hendrick for the Owls.

The Championship leaders made a host of changes from the win over Watford previously and did not possess their usual cutting edge in the final third, with the likes of Yunus Akgun and Cesare Casadei struggling to stamp their authority in the engine room alongside Harry Winks.

Leicester's start to this second-tier term had been heralded as one of the best in the division's history up until recently, but the East Midlands outfit have now won just one of their last four league matches, although Maresca's charges still possess an eight-point buffer over third-placed Leeds.

Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was rested from the start in South Yorkshire on Wednesday night after a sensational start to the campaign, with the 25-year-old scoring five goals and providing six assists - expect the former Luton Town loanee to regain his spot at The Hawthorns.

Representative of the successes of Leicester and West Brom over recent times, the last three meetings between the two clubs have been in the glamorous world of the Premier League, with the Foxes winning the most recent matchup 3-0 in April 2021 thanks to goals from Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho and Jonny Evans.

Team News

West Brom are waiting to discover the extent of Jed Wallace's shoulder injury after he was forced off in the first half at Cardiff, meaning it is highly unlikely that the winger plays a part this weekend.

Corberan could revert to his preferred five-at-the-back formation for the visit of the league leaders, so the likes of Phillips, Semi Ajayi and Erik Pieters could be involved in the starting XI.

Thomas-Asante was rested from the start before being subbed on after 21 minutes in Wales due to Wallace's injury, which could mean that fellow striker Josh Maja is handed his first Championship start of the season.

Leicester are sweating over the fitness of defender Wout Faes after the Belgium international was substituted with a dead leg at the half-time break at Hillsborough.

Natural full-back James Justin came on to replace Faes for the second half, and we are expecting the 25-year-old to join Conor Coady and Jannik Vestergaard in the Foxes' backline.

A host of first-choice options are set to return to the visitors' engine room following a poor performance against Sheffield Wednesday, with Wilfred Ndidi and Dewsbury-Hall preparing to regain their spots in the XI.

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Kipre, Bartley, Townsend; Furlong, Yokuslu, Mowatt, Phillips; Sarmiento, Diangana, Thomas-Asante

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Pereira, Coady, Vestergaard, Justin; Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, Winks; Fatawu, Mavididi, Vardy

We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Leicester City

West Brom have been enjoying a stellar run of form recently, but you feel that the visit of Leicester could halt the Baggies' momentum dead in its tracks.

The Foxes were disappointing in the draw at Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, although a similar result away at one of the division's in-form sides would be better received by supporters.


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