2 big dilemmas facing Valerien Ismael ahead of West Brom’s clash v Bristol City | OneFootball

West Brom will be targeting a return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, when they host Bristol City at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies suffered just their second league defeat of the season on Wednesday night, as they were beaten 2-1 away at Swansea City.

That means they are now third in the Championship table, one points adrift of the automatic promotion spots heading into this one.

As a result, there will be plenty for West Brom manager Valerien Ismael to think about going into this match.

So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at two dilemmas facing the Baggies boss going into this one, right here.

Bristol City’s away form

While Bristol City’s home form has been pretty dismal this season – and the back end of the last campaign as well – things have been much better on the road.

Going into this game, only league leaders Bournemouth have averaged more points per game away from home this season than Nigel Pearson’s side, meaning you would certainly expect them to be a threat in the Midlands.

The Baggies are unbeaten on their own turf in the league since the start of the campaign, but this could be a pretty big test of whether or not they can maintain that impressive record.

Keeping the crowd on side

Strangely for a side in as strong a position as West Brom are at the minute, there does seem to be a fair amount of pressure on their manager right now.

Ismael’s style of play has seemingly led to some sense of frustration among the Baggies fans this season, and defeat at Swansea in midweek is unlikely to have helped that.

Given the backing of the crowd could be vital in a match such as this against a side who are strong on the road, you whether that may tempt in Ismael into a change of approach for this one, to boost the mood in the stands and give his players on the pitch something of a lift.