With West Bromwich Albion heading into Wednesday evening’s Championship clash in a decent run of form, having picked up ten points from a possible 15 over their last five fixtures, Valerien Ismael will undoubtedly be hoping for yet another positive result at the Liberty Stadium in order to keep the Baggies’ push for a top-two finish heading in the right direction.
However, with Wednesday night’s hosts, Swansea City, being in much-improved form in recent weeks, picking up eight points from a possible 15 over their own last five games, the Frenchman will have to ensure he gets his team selection spot on if he is to have any hope of leaving Wales with all three points.
And, having rested the winger in last Friday’s 1-0 victory over Birmingham City due to a slight hamstring injury, it would appear wise for the 46-year-old manager to unleash Grady Diangana from the off against the Swans.
Ismael must unleash Diangana
Indeed, it is clear for all to see that the £18m club-record signing has not been in the best form of his career over his 11 Championship appearances this season, with the 23-year-old averaging a rather disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.64 – ranking him as the Baggies’ fifth-worst performer in the league.
However, in the club’s 4-0 win over Cardiff City prior to the recent international break, the £9m-rated man started to show signs of the form that helped fire West Brom to promotion back in 2019/20, when, over his 27 minutes on the pitch, Diangana registered one assist, created one big chance, made one key pass, completed one dibble and won two free-kicks for his side.
As such, in order to best help the £36k-per-week winger continue his return to form, Ismael must start the man Pablo Zabaleta dubbed a “dangerous” player against the Swans, as, despite his below-par performances this season, the 23-year-old nevertheless still possesses the ability to terrify a defence that has already conceded 14 goals in the current campaign.
In other news: Ismael drops promising West Brom injury update after Blues scare, fans will be buzzing