West Bromwich Albion look to make it three wins on the spin after crucial back-to-back successes, but visitors Ipswich have it all to play for in this Championship clash.
Morrison's selection philosophy
James Morrison is not one to make changes for the sake of it to a winning side. The Albion boss could hardly be more satisfied having seen his side chalk up successive 2-0 and 3-0 victories at a crunch time of the campaign to potentially stave off relegation worries - albeit before Friday's news of a two-point deduction coming at the 11th hour before the Saturday lunchtime clash.
My reading of the situation for a testing clash against the Tractor Boys is that Morrison goes for the continued tried and trusted.
Injury challenges and tactical tweaks
The loss of Karlan Grant, Mikey Johnston and then recently Jed Wallace to injury threatened to derail the Baggies' progress, but the decision to use midfielder Jayson Molumby in a hybrid right-sided role has been a masterstroke. The backline has been rock-solid with a remarkable run of six clean sheets in seven. The rest of the midfield picks itself.
Daryl Dike made it two goals in two games with a goalscoring return to the starting line-up. His performance was a powerful one and he caught the eye with a decent partnership in a rare run-out alongside Josh Maja. Maja played a lovely part in Albion's first goal through Isaac Price and it all seemed to work well, but Morrison did suggest afterwards there were parts of Maja's performance he wasn't totally satisfied with.
Predicted change up front
I had previously wondered if the entire starting XI would be unchanged - albeit remembering this is the third game in eight days. The suggestion Maja was slightly below his level has led me to a recall for Aune Heggebo, who should be reinvigorated. It requires Dike's fitness allowing two starts in a row, but hopefully he can prove himself in that regard.
See Albion correspondent Lewis Cox's predicted line-up below.
Predicted West Brom line-up (4-4-2)
- Max O'Leary
- Danny Imray
- Nat Phillips
- George Campbell
- Callum Styles
- Jayson Molumby
- Ousmane Diakite
- Alex Mowatt
- Isaac Price
- Aune Heggebo
- Daryl Dike
Subs: Griffiths (gk), Taylor, Gilchrist, Mepham, Bostock, Grant, Bany, Maja, Sule
