West Brom travel to Staffordshire to face Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday.
Both teams drew on Easter Monday and have their third game in eight days to look forward to. The Baggies drew 2-2 at The Hawthorn’s with Watford with Darnell Furlong scoring a stoppage-time equaliser after going two goals down.
Stoke played to a 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Huddersfield Town. Ki-Jana Hoever equalised after Bojan Radulovic opened the scoring for the Terriers.
The Championship table has West Brom in fifth and six points off of Southampton. They have an eight-point cushion over Coventry City who are just outside the play-offs.
A win for West Brom would help them tighten their grip on a top-six spot. As for Stoke, they’re five points above the relegation zone and victory for Steven Schumacher’s men would provide them with some relief.
Both Carlos Corberan and Steven Schumacher have some decisions to make regarding team selection. Here’s the latest injury and team news ahead of their pre-match press conferences.
Daryl Dike is out for the remainder of the year. He ruptured his Achilles for the second time in his career and faces another lengthy spell out.
Josh Maja is close towards making a return. He broke his ankle in the winter and has resumed light training. An early April return has been earmarked.
Cedric Kipre suffered a shoulder injury on Good Friday in the 2-2 draw against Watford. He missed Monday’s match but there is a hope that he will be fit enough to play at the weekend.
“On Sunday he tried to train with the medical department and he couldn’t,” said Carlos Corberan.
“Still there is soreness.
“We expect that, with the passing of the next 48 hours, I think he needs to be ready to train with the team.
“Hopefully he is ready and is available [for Saturday] but always it’s important to have our full squad ready for my selection.”
Midfielder Jayson Molumby is out for the remainder of the campaign. The Republic of Ireland star underwent surgery for a foot injury and has not played since January.
Martin Kelly is unlikely to play for West Brom this season. The 33-year-old hasn’t made a single appearance for the first team this term.
Matt Phillips has returned to action after spending time out on the sidelines after damaging his hamstring. He played nine minutes against Millwall before being an unused substitute against Watford.
The Potters are hoping that Junior Tchamadeu will play a part in the remaining few weeks of their campaign. He has been out of action since February after badly sprained his ankle. He could rejoin training next week but Saturday will come too soon.
Ben Pearson and Lynden Gooch are to also miss out as well. Gooch and Pearson both have hamstring strains and they might not play again before the end of the season.
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