West Brom boss Tony Pulis should consider changing his team shape and playing with two strikers in the final weeks of the season.
West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis
West Brom are currently on course to secure a top-half finish in the Premier League and have enjoyed a largely successful campaign. However, the goals have some what dried up in recent weeks and Pulis will be keen for his side to quickly rediscover some form in front of goal.
The Baggies hold a steady goals record in the league this season but the main factor behind their success is their defensive record. Supporters will enjoy seeing their team sitting in the top-half of the table, but they will understandably be concerned by their side’s lack of goals.
Their top goalscorer is Salomon Rondon but the Venezuelan has fallen victim to a goal drought (at the time of writing) and has struggled to hit double figures this term. 37-year-old defender Gareth McAuley is currently the club’s second top goalscorer.
Despite the team developing a habit of spreading goals throughout the team, it would be reassuring for supporters to see their forwards scoring more goals.
Another of West Brom’s strikers Hal Robson-Kanu, who has started to start more games in recent weeks, proposed the idea of him being played alongside Rondon in a forward two in an interview with the Birmingham Mail.
“Obviously we’ve played up top a couple of times towards the end of games,” he said.
“I think we’d be quite a force together (played from the start).”
Salomon Rondon has struggled for goals recently
It would not be a bad idea for Pulis to neglect his side’s more defensive minded shape and play with a more traditional 4-4-2 formation in the final weeks of the season.
Pulis is no stranger to shaping his sides in this traditional formation, his previous Stoke City side’s success was built upon this foundation. Despite choosing to install a different style of play and ethos at the Hawthorns, Pulis has the tactical nous to introduce this to this current West Brom side.
He has used two strikers in a game this season but towards the end of matches, especially when chasing games from a losing position. However, it may be time to consider two up front for West Brom as the side’s Plan A rather than a Plan B.
Hal Robson-Kanu thinks he and Rondon would be “quite a force” together
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