Rotherham vs Albion - Match preview

It’s been a tough time for the Millers this season. They have been managerless for almost a month and no wins in eight has seen them slide to the bottom of the pile.

Wayne Carlisle has been in interim charge after the sacking of Matt Taylor.

But Albion, despite staying fifth in the table following rare back-to-back league defeats under Corberan, have stumbled themselves and tonight provides a very real test as to whether the Baggies have what it takes to grit their teeth and power through.

It has been a season of a blunted attack for Albion so far and the situation shows no sign of relenting. No sooner did Corberan have close to all of his armoury available, three more key players have fallen.

Matt Phillips won’t be seen for months due to a long hamstring lay-off and Josh Maja’s injury sustained at former club Sunderland – on his first Baggies start – doesn’t look like a minor problem.

Jed Wallace is battling to return from a shoulder issue and could feature in some capacity in Yorkshire tonight. Brandon Thomas-Asante, the striker who has had to shoulder all of the burden this season with very little back-up, was only fit enough for 30 minutes on Saturday.

Still, a determined Corberan is not ready to use these considerable issues as an excuse and knows nobody will feel sorry for an Albion squad not light on talent.

Grady Diangana, John Swift and Jeremy Sarmiento are top attacking talent and Albion require some inspiration from them in the next few games at least.

The former was sharp on his return from six months injured but has, understandably, dipped in the last couple of fixtures. Swift, after recovering from two months out, has yet to catch fire to his levels prior to that.

Brighton loanee Sarmiento has blown hot and cold but at least showed a physical level to put together three starts in a row. A match-winner at Cardiff aside, the Ecuadorian just needs to find some consistency in his output.

Corberan said ahead of tackling Rotherham: “We played against Sunderland without important players – but everybody able to play are players that have been part of the squad.

“Everyone has been there, for the good things or the not so good things, I don’t have to now play with someone who hasn’t worked with us or isn’t part of the group.

“Every player that is going to play has been part of the group. The positive thing is we have recovered some players, the negative thing is we have lost players that were involved before.

“But in these circumstances the only important thing is to give the best of ourselves.”