Here are the talking points ahead of West Bromwich Albion’s trip to Leicester City.
McClean out, Yacob in
In recent weeks, James McClean has turned in some of his best performances for West Bromwich Albion, but the winger will miss the trip to Leicester due to suspension.
His absence will be a blow for the Baggies, although Tony Pulis does have options to replace the Republic of Ireland international, with Jonathan Leko, Matt Phillips and Craig Gardner pushing for a start.
The revolving door of suspensions continues with the return of Claudio Yacob. The Argentine was sorely missed last weekend, as Pulis’ decision to start Jonny Evans in his place backfired. Yacob will surely return to the starting eleven but it will be interesting to see if he is still paired with an out-of-form Darren Fletcher.
Early goals
West Brom have given themselves a mountain to climb in their last two fixtures. Tony Pulis’ side surrendered two goal leads within 35 minutes at Liverpool and 28 minutes at home to Manchester City.
Albion were much improved in the second-half of these matches but it is never easy chasing the game against such quality sides. Leicester will be no different, so West Brom need to keep it tight in the first half or risk being blown away by Vardy, Mahrez and co.
These recent slow starts are a reversal of a worrying trend, earlier in the season, which saw Albion concede late goals to Tottenham (89th min), Sunderland (83rd min) and Bournemouth (79th).
Good omen
West Brom haven’t lost away at Leicester since the 20th of January, 1994. This unbeaten record extends back to the Filbert Street days and means Albion are yet to taste defeat at the King Power Stadium.
In that time, the Baggies have won five of their seven away trips to Leicester, including a 4-1 League Cup victory in 2010. Tony Pulis will be hoping his side can continue this run and get a result against the Premier League champions on Sunday.
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