West Brom have been dealt an untimely blow ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at West Ham after the club accepted an FA charge of violent conduct against midfielder Matheus Pereira.
The 23-year-old appeared to be involved in an off-the-ball incident with Joe Allen during the first half of Monday’s defeat to Stoke City and has subsequently been banned for their next three matches, starting on Saturday.
Pereira will be a big blow to Slaven Bilic as he has racked up an impressive 14 assists already this season, not excluding the importance of his five goals either.
Several supporters at the Hawthorns haven’t taken too kindly to the news either as they responded to the club’s announcement on Twitter…
One fan labelled the decision as “disgraceful” as he believes Pereira had been kicked about all season by their opposition without much protection at all.
The numbers would reinforce this too as the Brazilian is fouled 2.7 times per game on average per WhoScored, which ranks as the second-highest in the whole division.
Who the heck is that?! Can you name all of these obscure West Brom players…
Another person went as far as saying “announce relegation” while one more compared it to Dwight Gayle’s sending off in the playoffs last season.
However, not all reaction was of the negative nature as some believed the decision could be a blessing in disguise.
Albion’s form has dipped considerably in the past two months as they have failed to win in six straight league games while it is only one win in seven overall.
A further supporter claimed that Pereira is more needed for their away game at Millwall than enjoying an FA Cup run.
It has also led to calls for the club to hurry on their transfer business as plenty asked them to sign their reported target, Dinamo Zagreb forward Mislav Orsic.
It is believed that the club will make an £8m bid for Orsic in the near future but time is running out with this month’s transfer deadline just a week away.
The Baggies also suffered an injury blow to Grady Diangana on Monday night, and he could be out for the next month, meaning a need for attacking additions is very much there to be seen.
Bilic will need to find a way to transform Albion’s fortunes without the services of his key enigmatic duo.
And in other news, West Brom’s reported pursuit of this goal-laden duo is bordering on “impossible” this month…