West Bromwich Albion v Sheffield United
Saturday October 29, 12:30pm
Sky Sports Football
Corberan looking for new manager Boing
WBA finally appointed Steve Bruce's successor in the form of Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan. You'd be forgiven for thinking the Spaniard's last game in management was last season's Championship play-off final against Nottingham Forest, but he actually arrives at The Hawthorns after an ill-fated 11-game period as Olympiacos boss which lasted just 49 days and saw the Greek giants win only two games.
His stock remains high in the EFL though, after leading Huddersfield so unexpectedly close to the Premier League last season and Baggies fans are hopeful that he can repeat the trick by taking on an underachieving but talented squad and improve their fortunes in a short space of time.
Injuries hampering Hecky's side
Sheffield United's early season form meant that they came into October as favourites to win the Championship title but a run of three draws, three defeats and therefore three points in the whole of October has seen the early table-toppers slide down the table.
Paul Heckingbottom will point to the injury blows that he has been dealt, with Sander Berge, Enda Stevens, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Max Lowe just a few of the many first-team players who have been unavailable in that time. Goalkeeper Wes Foderingham will be another absentee for this game, serving the final game of his three-match suspension, meaning Adam Davies will be in between the sticks again despite his error in Saturday's 2-2 draw against Norwich.
McBurnie in the goals after lean spell
Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie has scored six league goals in 13 appearances this season, only one fewer than he netted across his previous three seasons between 2019-20 and 2021-22 (seven in 87 games). His goal against Luton back on 28th August was his first in 43 games, and he has continued that good form after ending the drought.
History might favour West Brom here, with the last four league meetings between West Brom and Sheffield United having been won by the home side. They have also won the last two meetings between these two at The Hawthorns, although they have won just two of their opening 16 league matches this season, the first time they've had as few as two wins at this stage of a season outside the top-flight.
No bounce for Baggies with Blades the value
Rather than performing poorly, it seems like they are still playing pretty well and just not getting the rub of the green. If they maintain this level of performance, it is only a matter of time until they return to winning ways.
West Brom will be popular amongst punters looking for the fabled 'new manager bounce' but they may have missed the boat after Baggies won the first game after Bruce's dismissal at Reading. The bounce is normally just a regression to the mean, with managers often being sacked after periods of poor results regardless of performances. The last two displays for WBA against Bristol City and Millwall have been concerning, deservedly losing both games with the underlying numbers taking a sharp dip in Bruce's absence.
Corberan may well have his work cut out here to get off to a winning start despite currently being cosy favourites for the game. The 11/10 about Sheffield United in the draw no bet market looks the way to play this, with Heckingbottom's side grossly underestimated by the market.
Recommended bets
Back Sheffield United Draw No Bet @ 2.111/10