Three Vital Points At Stake Against West Brom

Last week: Newcastle should have finally gotten its Premier League season going after a bright start at the Stadium of Light. Then Martin Atkinson took out his red card, and snuffed out any hopes of routing rival Sunderland. With another opportunity for three points wasted, it is vital for the club to start stringing together wins - quickly - before a repeat trip to Europe fades from view.

Meanwhile, West Brom also squandered a golden chance Saturday against Manchester City. A 1-0 lead and one-man advantage was not enough for Albion, as Edin Dzeko netted twice in the waning minutes to drop West Brom to eighth in the table. 

Keys to the match: In our most recent podcast, we talked about the speed-driven counterattack that West Brom features. Last December, Newcastle felt the full brunt of that storm, as West Brom's quickness terrorized the high line Alan Pardew had put in place. But the most important player for the visitors could be attacking midfielder James Morrison, not pacy strikers Shane Long or Peter Odemwingie.

Morrison has been the most potent player in blue and white this season, scoring twice and leading Albion with 15 chances created in open play. His presence has meant that Steve Clarke has mostly set his club up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, leaving one of his strikers on the bench or out wide.

The packed West Brom midfield, and the absence of Cheick Tioté, means that Pardew should avoid reverting to 4-4-2, even if it finally flickered to life against Sunderland. Were I in the manager's designer shoes, Newcastle would play Yohan Cabaye, Jonás Gutiérrez, and James Perch in a midfield three today, in hopes of both blunting Morrison and giving Cabaye license to start attacks of his own. Otherwise, an outmanned midfield could find itself overrun at the start of the match, as has happened several other times this season.

Comments

[billyjoelismint]

Stick Perchy in front of the back four and tell him to nullify the threat from Morrison. Nee bother. I have a feeling Pardew will go with Anita instead though, which will be a shame because although I like Anita, and think he's going to be a canny player for us, we don't have a player better at playing that "Anchor" role than Perchy.