3 West Brom stars that Southampton must be wary of in play-offs, including former Portsmouth man

Immediately following Southampton’s thrilling 2-1 victory against Leeds United on the last day of the regular Championship season, all eyes must be on the play-off semifinal matchup with West Brom.

Russell Martin and his team will have felt more confident following that outcome, since a sequence of three straight losses had threatened to send them limping into the play-off matches.

Now that Southampton has defeated West Brom twice in the league this year, they have to get ready for a doubleheader against the same team.

On Sunday, the Saints will travel to The Hawthorns for the first leg. The return leg will take place the following Friday at St. Mary’s under the lights.

Southampton will need to be cautious of some of West Brom’s attacking players after they wrapped up the season with a 3-0 victory over Preston on Saturday.

Southampton must stop West Brom captain

Jed Wallace, the captain of West Brom, is the first of the players.

The 30-year-old will be especially motivated because, prior to playing 121 appearances for the team, he attended Portsmouth’s academy, one of Southampton’s fiercest rivals.

Although Wallace has spent his whole playing career as a winger, he has been successful this season playing both as a center-forward and on the right wing.

Wallace’s goal total hasn’t been spectacular—six goals is decent but not particularly noteworthy, according to Transfermarkt—but when you factor in his five assists, you can see that Wallace has the makings of a true threat.

Brandon Thomas-Asante West Brom’s top goalscorer

Southampton is well aware that the Baggies’ primary goal scorer for the current campaign is Brandon Thomas-Asante.

The 25-year-old has two assists in addition to 11 Championship goals.

He is still West Brom’s main man, but his contribution is negligible in comparison to Southampton strikers Adam Armstrong and Che Adams, who have scored 21 and 16 goals in the league, respectively.

Against Leeds, Martin surprised everyone by switching from his preferred 4-3-3 formation to a back three.

But Southampton’s defenders will know they are up against a formidable foe in Thomas-Asante, who has a commanding physical presence, whether they are playing a back three or a four.

Mikey Johnston will be West Brom’s main threat

Mikey Johnston, who West Brom loaned him from Celtic in January, has been fantastic.

Since moving south of the line, the Ireland international has been used mostly on the left wing and has seven goals in eighteen Championship games.

Johnstone is a cunning player who enjoys cutting inside with his preferred right foot to get a shot off.

With Kyle Walker-Peters anticipated to play on the right of the defense, either as a wing-back or a more traditional full-back, Southampton will fortunately have one of their greatest players square up against Johnstone.

Grady Diangana, a former West Ham winger, can also create havoc in the attacking third on his last day and, along with Johnstone, Wallace, and Thomas-Asante, form a potent attacking quartet.

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