Carlos Corberán insists Friday’s fixture against Southampton under the Hawthorns lights is one he, his coaching staff and his players are all incredibly motivated for.
The Baggies take on the high-flying Saints in what many would consider to be the most eye-catching encounter in the Sky Bet Championship this weekend.
Corberán’s men have won five games on the spin in the second tier in front of their own supporters, while Southampton, who sit third ahead of kick-off, lost for the first time in any competition since late September on Tuesday at Bristol City.
The boss believes the level of the visitors’ displays this term have been “amazing” and says his team need to be ready to be “competitive”.
Carlos said: “I’m expecting Southampton to compete with the same level that they have competed all season, which has been amazing.
“When you have lost only one of your last 26 games, imagine how good that must feel on the football pitch.
“One of the most exciting things about the Championship is that only a few days after playing against Cardiff, we take on a Southampton team and it will be a completely different scenario.
“It’s important to be competitive in every scenario in this league.
“You have to be competitive in one scenario where the opponents will try to be very dominant with the ball, as well as in other scenarios where other opponents will be happy for you to have more possession and hit a higher number of longer passes.
“We have to be ready to face all the different challenges.
“They lost on Tuesday for the first time since September. Whether that is a good or a bad thing for us – I don’t know.
“All I know is that I’ll be preparing as best I can for this game and I hope we’ll be able to achieve the result we all want to achieve.
“A game like this on Friday night, at The Hawthorns, you can only be completely motivated for.”
