EFL Championship 2019/20: Preston North End vs West Bromwich Albion – tactical analysis

The last match of this EFL Championship match week treated us to arguably the most enticing. Table-toppers West Bromwich Albion travelled north to visit a stuttering Preston North End.

Slaven Bilić arrived in the summer and has brought about a resurgence for the Baggies. Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana and Romaine Sawyers are just some of the players that have been brought in and been starring in their rise to the top. Another summer signing, Charlie Austin eventually won them the points here.

Preston’s superb start has been faltering as of late. Two away games have been lost in a row, losing 4:0 at Hull City last time out, leaving them in sixth place ahead of today, just inside the play-off positions.

In this tactical analysis, we shall look at the tactics deployed by Preston and West Brom, and how the Baggies managed to snatch a vital win in the EFL Championship promotion race.

Lineups

Alex Neil’s side was severely hit with injuries, which forced him to make a number of changes and play a makeshift defence, with many playing out-of-position. Alan Browne, usually a forward player, slotted in a right-back. Patrick Bauer had also been ruled out causing Paul Huntingdon to come in. Daniel Johnson dropped back into central-midfield, after playing in the 10 against Hull – Brad Potts went there today. Finally, Jayden Stockley went up-top, with Tom Barkhuizen now playing wide right.

It’s widely acknowledged that in this league you need to be averaging two points per game if you want to be aiming for promotion. West Brom’s current crop are matching and exceeding that recommendation, therefore it was no surprise to see Bilic keep the same 11 that has served him so well so far. Welshman Hal Robson-Kanu’s performances off the bench have seen him muscle out Austin and become the first-choice striker.