West Brom welcome Nottingham Forest at the Hawthorns on Saturday hoping to make it four wins on the bounce in the Championship.
The Baggies extended their advantage at the top of the Championship standings to six points on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over Reading at the Madejski Stadium. Goals from Matheus Pereira and Kyle Bartley helped the visitors win after they trailed 1-0 thanks to George Puscas’ goal.
West Brom’s opponents, Nottingham Forest, are fifth in the table and come into this game off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Charlton.
West Brom left-back Kieran Gibbs edged closer to a first-team return after being handed a run-out in Albion U23s’ 0-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League Cup on Monday afternoon.
The Baggies don’t have fresh injury concerns ahead of the game.
Johnstone is West Brom’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and will look to keep a clean sheet against Nottingham Forest.
O’Shea looked solid against Reading on Wednesday and deserves to keep his place at right-back.
Ajayi has enjoyed a good season with West Brom and will continue partnering Bartley at the back.
Bartley scored in the second half against Reading with what turned out to be the winner for the Baggies. His presence is a certainty at the back for Bilic’s side.
Townsend has impressed of late and will retain his position at left-back.
Livermore is a tough-tackling midfielder who’ll look to keep things simple against Forest at the weekend.
Sawyers could again start in a deeper role, just as he did at Reading. He could dictate the tempo of the game with his passing and movement from that position on Saturday.
Krovinovic is an intelligent midfielder who’ll be key in carving open the Forest defence at the weekend.
Pereira’s influence goes without saying, with the Brazilian scoring six goals and registering 11 assists in the league this season.
Robinson has really impressed since joining on loan from Sheffield United last month, producing a top display in the 2-1 victory at Reading. He’s a certainty to start on the left flank.
Robson-Kanu may be struggling to score goals but his energy and work rate make him so important to Bilic’s system. The Welshman will once again get the nod ahead of Austin in the number nine role.
