Carlos Corberan praises Birmingham City difference maker Siriki Dembele ahead of West Brom clash
Carlos Corberan has heaped praise on Birmingham City forward Siriki Dembele ahead of the clash between West Brom and the Blues.
The Baggies travel to St Andrew’s on Friday 6 October as they look to stretch their unbeaten run in the Championship to six matches, having won in their last two outings against Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday.
John Eustace’s Birmingham side have had a mixed start to the season after a busy summer transfer window, but having beaten Huddersfield 4-1 in the last match, Corberan was eager to praise the transfer business of the Blues’ and Dembele in particular.
As quoted by Birmingham Live (5 October) he said: “They have one of the good squads in the Championship. They made a high investment in the squad, maybe the last game was the first game where they were able to put good players, who they brought to the club, together on the pitch.
“They signed some good players and they suffered injuries, but the other day against Huddersfield was the first time they could put key players together. They have players who can make a difference in the Championship.
“Dembele was in the Premier League and, after moving to France, he was with Peterborough and then helped Bournemouth win promotion to the Premier League. [Jay] Stansfield was in Fulham making a good season in League One, now he is here and scoring goals.
“They have a very good squad in general, one squad which they’ve now played together and they competed really, really, really well.”
Big test
Albion have really shown that they are a side that needs to be taken seriously in the last few weeks and since the September international break has ended, they have been one of the form teams in the Championship, especially in defence.
Having kept clean sheets in four of their five outings in this block of fixtures, Corberan will be hoping that his side are capable of keeping the difference makers in Eustace’s side quiet throughout the match to end the current block of fixtures in the same manner it began.
Given how comfortably the Baggies romped past the previously unbeaten Preston last weekend, West Brom should be coming into every game believing that they are capable of getting a result and if their defence continues to perform, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t bring three points back from St Andrew’s.
Corberan’s side currently sit fifth in the Championship and a win on Friday night would likely see them remain in the play-off places over the October international break.
Given the lack of funding afforded to the Spanish manager and the unfortunate injury problems his side has faced, that would represent an excellent start to the campaign for the Baggies.
