Work to do for West Brom as they return to the Premier League with a whimper

West Bromwich Albion marked their return to the top-flight with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester, with all three goals for the Foxes coming in the second half.

Slaven Bilic and his men would’ve been well aware of the attacking quality that oozes through this Leicester side, hence the Serbian starting with a back five, however the use of an extra defender made little difference in Albion’s efforts to keep out the Foxes and hindered any chances of attacking threat going forward.

Despite the scoreline, the Premier League new-boys started the contest the better side, keeping possession nicely but finding it difficult to carve out any clear-cut opportunities. But after the half-hour mark, Leicester got out of first gear and started cruising. Brendan Rodgers’ side had to wait until after the interval to find the back of the net but once debutant and man-of-the-match Timothy Castagne guided his lopping header at the back-post past Sam Johnstone in goal, there was only going to be one winner.

Last season’s Premier League top-scorer Jamie Vardy added the other two goals from the penalty spot, maintaining his perfect scoring record at the Hawthorns as the Baggies never looked like challenging Leicester.

One of the favourites for relegation this term, West Brom need to find a solution that will end in results otherwise they’ll be answering a call from the Championship once again come May. You can respect Bilic’s choice of using a defensive formation against a fluid attacking outfit like Leicester, but it removed any slight chance the hosts had of creating goal-scoring opportunities.

There’s undoubtedly fire power in this West Brom side, unlike during their last spell in the Premier League where they were branded ‘dull’ and ‘boring’. Playmakers Grady Diangana and Mattheus Pereira are the two players that come to mind when associating the terms ‘flair’ and ‘West Brom’.

However, neither showed a glimpse of the unpredictability on the flank that made the duo fan favourites at the Hawthorns last season. The Baggies forked out £25m to make their moves permanent this summer, and Bilic will have to set up a side that plays to their strengths if West Brom are to remain in the top-flight this year.

Callum Robinson was another player who was non-existent for Albion on Sunday, with the striker making his loan move permanent too. Having failed to impress for Sheffield United in the Premier League last season, it’s certainly a major gamble to rely on the Irishman for goals at this level to keep the Black Country club up. Both Hal Robson-Kanu and Charlie Austin managed to achieve double digit goal tallies last season, with the former being introduced in the 60th minute, but you’d be foolish to think that either are the solution up front. 

With trips to Everton and Southampton either side of a home game against Chelsea next up for the Baggies in the league, Bilic may be tempted to field defensive lineups once again, but risks have to be taken now to find a winning formula, otherwise the season will ultimately end in relegation for West Brom once again.