da spicy bet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
da bet7： West Brom sit atop the Championship table as the international break begins to come to an end this week.
At one stage, Albion were the only unbeaten side remaining in the division until Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United defeated them.
They responded in perfect fashion by beating Cardiff City 4-2 just a matter of days later, even if they did have to endure a couple of nervy moments.
Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
Holding top spot at this stage of the season is obviously a good thing, but there is still a long, long way to go, so Slaven Bilic must ensure his side keeps up this level of football all the way until May.
One factor that would undoubtedly aid those chances is getting Charlie Austin scoring more regularly.
The 30-year-old netted his first league goal for the club during the Bluebirds victory in what was his seventh appearance.
On the Chalkboard
Last week, the Croatian spoke about how winger Matty Phillips needs to get in the box more, but it’s advice that he could do with telling his £4m summer signing instead, Bilic said:
“He was always a top player. He always had that in him, but wingers have to be in and around the box.
“He likes to be around the box, but I said to him sometimes he wasn’t in the box enough. If you’re not in the box it’s very rare (to score as a winger).
“But normally if you’re not in the box you’re going to score two goals a season, from penalties or whatever.”
As a result of getting into the penalty area on a regular basis, Phillips has racked up four goals to be the team’s joint-top goalscorer. It also means he’s just one finish shy of matching last season’s total of five, per WhoScored.
This is where Austin needs to be if he wants to start scoring on a regular basis – the positional map below shows just how deep the former Saints man played against Cardiff. His first goal for Albion came from a solo burst through midfield rather than a typical predatory-like finish.
The following xG model by Understat shows where the 30-year-old is most lethal – hazard any guesses?
Throughout his Premier League career during spells at both Southampton and Queens Park Rangers, Austin has scored the majority of his goals from the penalty spot or closer.
Another thing is that Phillips and Austin should have previous chemistry from when the pair were playing together at QPR. Therefore, they should know each other’s style of play, which should bear fruit eventually.
On this occasion, Bilic’s comments are directed at the wrong man.