3 things West Brom cannot get wrong against Sheffield United | OneFootball

FLW identifies three areas Albion must not slip up in to walk away with a positive result from Bramall Lane.

West Brom begin a run of tough Championship fixtures as they aim to keep their second tier status intact.

It has been a damaging last week as far as Albion are concerned, after a 1-1 draw at home to Charlton Athletic brought Eric Ramsay’s 44-day reign in the The Hawthorns hotseat to an end, which meant the former Baggies boss had failed to record a single victory from the nine Championship games he was in charge of.

Following Ramsay’s departure, club legend James Morrison has once again been placed in interim charge of the team, but he failed to have any influence as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Oxford United last weekend.

Despite the defeat, Baggies legend Morrison has now been placed in charge of the first-team for the remainder of the campaign, adding technical coach Matt Gill to the backroom staff, who worked with Russell Martin at Southampton when the Saints gained promotion out of the Championship in 2024.

The duo are working together ahead of this weekend’s trip to the Steel City to face Sheffield United, who can still make a late charge for the play-offs under Chris Wilder.

It’s a daunting task at hand for Albion to get anything from Bramall Lane, with Morrison’s men last tasting victory on the road in October 2025 - a 1-0 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road.

The Black Country outfit have to start picking up points regularly if they are to avoid the dreaded League One trapdoor though, while their performance will have to be faultless if they are to come away from Yorkshire with a positive result.

With this in mind, FLW has identified three areas West Brom cannot get wrong this weekend.

1 ? ? Conceding from set pieces

West Brom’s biggest downfall in the defeat to Oxford United was their inability to deal with set pieces.

The Baggies found themselves two goals down inside the opening 26 minutes, as the U’s took advantage of a frail Albion backline.

Stanley Mills put the hosts in front as he headed home Jamie Donley's corner from six yards out, before Will Lankshear rose to head in Cameron Brannagan's floated free kick.

It gave Albion a mountain to climb from the very start, with James Morrison calling out the likes of Krystian Bielik and Max O’Leary for failing to prevent the goals.

Sheffield United possess big players from the back like Tyler Bindon and Japhet Tanganga, who can punish any lapses in concentration, so Albion will have to be at the top of their game to keep those two out when balls are whipped into the danger area.

Whoever starts in the heart of the Baggies' backline must ensure that they are winning the first contact from all deliveries into the box, otherwise Albion are at risk of giving more cheap goals away and preventing themselves from getting any points.

The likes of Bielik have to stand up and use their towering height to great effect, putting their bodies on the line and proving to the Albion faithful that they are indeed up for the fight.

2 ? ? Losing the midfield battle

Under Chris Wilder, and particularly in front of their home crowd, Sheffield United are direct, playing through the middle with pace and precision to cut their opposing teams open.

Midfielders Gus Hamer and Callum O’Hare are so key to this, with their small frames and ability to wriggle past defenders effortlessly opening gaps for the likes of Patrick Bamford to finish chances off.

Therefore, cutting the supply line off will be crucial, which will be the responsibility for the likes of Alex Mowatt, Jayson Molumby and Ousmane Diakite.

Against Oxford, Albion lost four more ground duals and seven more aerial duals than the U’s, despite having almost 70% possession, so they have to ensure that they are up in those numbers against the Blades to stop them from playing and getting the home crowd buoyant.

There is a big onus on the midfield this weekend, with this position crucial to ensuring the Baggies keep the ball out of their own net.

3 ? ? Not being clinical in the final third

Lastly, West Brom must take the chances that come their way in the final third.

Scoring goals has been a major issue for the Baggies this term, with the Black Country outfit ranking 19th in the division for goals scored, while they place 23rd in the standings for their conversion rate, with only 5.2% of their efforts hitting the back of the net.

Therefore, an injection of creativity is needed to help turn Albion’s slump around, as well as some risk-taking, which was on show by academy graduate Ollie Bostock at the Kassam Stadium last weekend when he replaced the injured Mikey Johnston early into the first half.

His fearlessness to have a shot from 25 yards out got the slice of luck that Albion needed, proving to some of the more senior players that they have to gamble if they are to turn their fortunes around.

There have been far too many sidewards and backwards passes from this Albion team in recent times. They need to be direct, on the front foot and unleash efforts that make the goalkeeper work, with this approach putting the Baggies on track to scoring more goals and getting the supporters excited to watch their team again.

It comes down to confidence, but even when it’s low, big characters need to be present to strike through the fear and show an appetite to change the situation, and a lack of that has made supporters so disgruntled.

Sooner rather than later, Albion have got to show some pride in their defending and an edge in their attacking play, otherwise they will be heading to defeat once again and sprinting towards relegation.