Sunderland legend Kevin Ball selects his ones to watch within the West Bromwich Albion ranks ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Hawthorns.
Gareth McAuley
Gareth McAuley has been an absolutely fantastic signing for West Bromwich Albion and at 37 he’s still doing the business. The Northern Ireland international has been a rock for Tony Pulis’ side since arriving in 2011, but he has another dimension to his play in a forward sense. The defender has scored four league goals this season and he’s West Brom’s eighth highest Premier League scorer of all-time, so he’ll be a big threat from set pieces for a side who have scored more headed goals (11) than any other team in the top flight this season. He also has the experience to cope with Jermain Defoe, so that’ll be a key battle to look out for.
Chris Brunt
An international team-mate of McAuley’s, it’s good to see Christ Brunt back in action following a heart-breaking end to the midfielder’s 2015-16 season. He played a massive role in helping Northern Ireland reach the Euro 2016 finals before suffering a knee injury in March meaning he missed the tournament, but he returned to action in October and last weekend made his 300th league appearance for the Baggies. He’s been a terrific servant for the club but he’s still playing a big role, scoring earlier this month in a 3-1 win over Hull City.
Matt Phillips
Sunderland have relied on Jermain Defoe for goals this season, but they aren’t the only team in the Premier League with a key player. For West Brom, Matt Phillips is just that at this moment in time. He’s scored five goals and registered seven assists in his last 12 games for the Baggies, and he’ll pose a huge threat to Sunderland’s defence this weekend. Still just 25, Phillips caught the attention during his time for Blackpool before spending three years at QPR, but he’s really taken his game to a new level this season and he’ll be keen to push on.
Hal Robson-Kanu
Hal Robson-Kanu has a big six months ahead of him. West Bromwich Albion are playing well and he’s being given a chance to show what he can do, but he has to take that chance. On Saturday he’ll come face to face with Jason Denayer – the defender he turned before slamming home one of the goals of Euro 2016 – and he’ll be hoping to replicate his impressive, and prolific, international form on the domestic stage. Take nothing away from his ability, though, because in the last few weeks he’s shown glimpses of that player, scoring a great goal and grabbing an assist against Southampton before coming off the bench to assist James Morrison in another win.
Ben Foster
Ben Foster is 33 now but he continues to get better and better with age. I always think of him as just that, a developing player, but he's been ever-present since breaking onto the scene in 2005. I was also interested to see that he’s played more football at West Brom than any other club, but it’s good to see he’s settled and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. Foster’s made some big saves this season and contributed to the team’s defensive resilience which has seen the Baggies move into the top half of the table, so he’ll play a big part on Saturday and the Lads will need their shooting boots to beat him.
