West BromWest Bromwich Albionvs.ShrewsburyShrewsbury Town

A relatively-unchanged Albion squad are preparing for another term in the Championship, while Shrewsbury will be looking to compete in the upper reaches of League One next term.

Match preview

West Brom head into Saturday's pre-season clash following a productive week-long stay at St George's Park in a quiet corner of Staffordshire, with the Baggies using top-class facility mostly used by the England senior team.

Whilst most teams have jetted off to sunnier climates - with Alicante and Benidorm being the destination of choice for a lot of Albion's Championship rivals - Carlos Corberan has put his men through their paces on home soil.

The Baggies will be looking to maintain their 100 per cent record in pre-season following a comfortable 3-0 win over Port Vale in a behind-closed-doors friendly last time out, with Brandon Thomas-Asante, Karlan Grant and Adam Reach making the net ripple.

With the Black Country outfit no longer receiving parachute payments and an absent owner who is looking to sell the club, Corberan is set to fish in the loan and free agent markets in order to freshen up his Albion squad.

The sale of centre-back Dara O'Shea has certainly boosted the club's finances, however it appears West Brom are in no position to reinvest the £7m earned from that sale into the playing staff.

Shrewsbury are all set to begin a new chapter under former Walsall head coach Matthew Taylor, following the end of Steve Cotterill's reign as manager in Shropshire.

After an incredible 2017-18 campaign in which the Shrews finished only behind Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers in the third-tier standings, it has been five years of midtable mediocrity for the club, with the 2022-23 producing a 12th-placed standing.

Unlike their hosts on Saturday, Taylor's men have moved quickly in the transfer market this summer, bringing in young talent but also re-signing winger Elliott Bennett on a one-year deal.

There have been major departures from the club however, with last year's Player of the Season Matthew Pennington making the switch to recently-relegated Blackpool, despite the centre-back being previously linked with a move to the Championship.

The Shrews are keeping their friendly matches local this summer, with clashes against Coventry City, Stourbridge and Notts County to come after they pit their wits against Corberan's men on Saturday.

West Bromwich Albion friendly form:

West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions):

W

W

L

L

W

L

Shrewsbury Town friendly form:

Shrewsbury Town form (all competitions):

D

L

L

L

W

L

Team News

West Brom are set to involve a host of youth players in Saturday's match, with 20-year-old Caleb Taylor looking to take advantage of O'Shea's departure and stake his claim in the club's first-team setup this season.

Daryl Dike has been around the Albion squad during pre-season but continues his rehabilitation from an Achilles injury suffered in April, with the American expected back in action near the end of the calendar year.

Matt Phillips and Grady Diangana spent the final parts of the 2022-23 term on the sidelines due to injury, and Corberan is being wary of rushing the pair into the intensity of pre-season too quickly.

Shrewsbury are set to hand out a number of debuts in Walsall this weekend, with Morgan Feeney looking to fill the hole left by Pennington after joining the club from Carlisle United.

Salop have also bolstered their wing-back department by recruiting Luton Town youngster Elliot Thorpe, who spent the first part of last season on loan in League One at Burton Albion.

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Furlong, Kipre, Bartley, Townsend; Yokuslu, Molumby, Wallace, Swift, Grant; Thomas-Asante

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:

Marosi; Flanagan, Dunkley, Pyke; Bennett, Winchester, Barlow, Shipley, Bloxham; Bowman, Udoh

We say: West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Shrewsbury Town

West Brom head into this clash after an intense week of work at St George's Park under the scrutiny of the obsessive Corberan, and they should be confident of earning victory.

Shrewsbury will use this match to help a host of new signings settle in to the side, although Taylor will not be expecting - or particularly caring about - a result.

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