FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has highlighted Blackburn’s Adam Wharton as one to watch but believes the Baggies will win 2-1
West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers narrowly missed out on the Championship play-offs last season so both will be hoping to go one step further in the 2023/24 campaign.
Despite enjoying impressive first seasons at their respective clubs, both Carlos Corberan and Jon Dahl Tomasson have had their hands tied when it comes to summer transfer business.
Albion’s ongoing issues with owner Lai Guochuan, who is thought to be keen to sell the club, has meant the purse strings are tight – with free agent striker Josh Maja and Brighton loanee Jeremy Sarmiento the only new arrivals to date.
Rovers meanwhile have lost a number of influential players in the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz, Bradley Dack, and Daniel Ayala but have only made three new signings – Niall Ennis, Sondre Tronstad, and Arnór Sigurdsson – and none since the 21st of June.
As such, expectations are not as high as they might’ve been for two sides that were battling for a top six finish last term – particularly given the much-discussed strength of the Championship.
Saturday’s game at Ewood Park will offer an early indication of what we can expect from the pair in 2023/24.
Blackburn v West Brom: Rovers dangerman
After a number of high-profile summer exits for Rovers, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit Richard Hodgetts has picked out rising star Adam Wharton as the opposition player that he’s most concerned about.
He explained: “With Ben Brereton Diaz, Bradley Dack, and Daniel Ayala leaving, it kind of makes it more of a trickier thing to know what the biggest threats Blackburn possess are.
“I would probably go for the youngster Adam Wharton. I know it was a bit of a breakthrough season for him last year and he’s highly thought of up in Lancashire.
“For me, it’s Adam Wharton. He’s creative, hungry, good on the ball – a real good player. He’d be the one that is the biggest threat from an Albion point of view.”
Blackburn v West Brom: Score prediction
Pressed for a score prediction, Hodgetts went with his heart over his head and suggested that the Baggies would come out on top.
He said: “Albion don’t tend to start seasons too well, unless we’ve got Valerien Ismael in charge.
“My heart is trying to rule my head. My heart tells me 2-1 Albion, my head tells me if we come out of there with a point.
“We haven’t played particularly well in pre-season. I know they’re just friendlies but we’ve shipped a lot of goals.
“But we’ve got to have some faith in Carlos Corberan so I’m going to go with my heart and say 2-1 Albion.”
