Dream Training : The Champions

In the 10th round, Southampton faced West Bromwhich Albion. In this round, Southampton fielded the main players from the start. Southampton used a 4-2-3-1 formation. Dean Smith appeared as the goalkeeper. The fullback position was again filled by Freddy and Benson. The position of center back was filled by the duo Hilton and Okhalo.

The defensive midfield duo in midfield were Simone and Orlando. Rudolf got a suspension of accumulation of 3 yellow cards. Then, Joe Bennet returned to the start even though his performance in the match against Everton was less than satisfactory. On the wings Rustan and Ryan filled the right and left wings. Then as usual, Kazuki occupied the striker position.

On the other hand, West Bromwhich Albion hadn't changed much compared to last season. The figure of Ben Foster was still guarding the West Brom goalpost. Then West Brom's midfield duo were Liam Ridgewell and Gareth McAurey. Jonas Olsson at left-back and Billy Jones at right-back.

In the middle, Morrison filled the right midfielder position. Then there was the figure of Claudio Yacub who became the defensive midfielder, he replaced George Thorne who last season played as the main player. Next, Yousuf Mulumbu from the Democratic Congo. Finally Chris Brunt on the left.

Up front was Romelu Lukaku, a Belgian player who has impressed this season. So far he has collected 4 goals. He was a duet with Shane Long, a player from Ireland. Overall West Brom used a 4-4-2 formation.

At the start of the match, West Brom immediately started the first half kick-off. In this match, Southampton played at a low tempo early in the first half. They let West Brom play with the ball, while they themselves built block areas in midfield. This block area was created with a formation shape set by George Eastgate. This shape aims to force West Brom to play on the wings.

In the 4th minute, Jonas Olsson gave a pass to Claudio Yacub, but Bennet's figure overshadowed Yacub, so he couldn't play the ball comfortably, then, Yacub forced the pass forward. Before Yousuf Mulumbu received the ball, Orlando cut it first. Soon, Orlando sent the ball towards the right wing. Rustan gave the ball back to Freddy.

The Southampton right-back again provided a through ball forward. Rustan duel with West Brom left back, namely Jonas Olsson. Even though Olsson often plays on the left, but he was not a pure left back, so Olsson's speed was loose compared to Rustan's. The Southampton winger provided a pass into the middle of the penalty box.

Kazuki tried to get the ball, but he was blocked by McAurey. Then, Ridgewell took the opportunity to head the ball weakly forward. Claudio Yacub received the ball and then gave it to Billy Jones. West Brom reorganized the formation.

Southampton failed to score but they remain confident to keep pressing West Brom. In the 10th minute, Olsson sent a progressive pass towards Chris Brunt. The West Brom left midfielder brought the ball forward and then tried to provide a cross into the penalty box. Too bad Simone cut the crossing pass with his foot. He then gave the ball to Hilton.

Hilton gave Okhalo the ball. Okhalo took the ball and passed it to Benson. Benson stepped forward, he took the ball into the middle, but James Morrison soon blocked Benson's path. Benson gave Orlando the ball, the Southampton defensive midfielder gave the ball to Ryan.

Ryan gently returned the ball to Benson who went past Morrison. Benson dribbled the ball into the middle quickly. Claudio Yousuf chased Benson but the Southampton left-back gave a low pass to the side. Bennett received the ball, and gave the ball to Rustan.

The Southampton right winger pushed the ball into the penalty box, he penetrated into the penalty box. Rustan changed the direction of the ball, as Ridgewell tried to steal the ball from him, he gave Kazuki a flat pass. Kazuki was running tried to get away from McAurey, he stuck out his leg to change the direction of the ball. He managed to change the ball direction, but unfortunately the ball positively caught by Ben Foster's arms.

Southampton again failed to attack West Brom. However, this attack shows how strong Southampton's defense was. Without a good defense, it was difficult for a team to launch an attack. Simone who blocked Chris Brunt's cross was a key player in this attack.

In the 17th minute, it was West Brom's turn to get a chance. The attack was initiated by Claudio Yacub who managed to tackle Bennett who was dribbling the ball. As soon as Claudio Yacub stole the ball from Bennet's feet, he then gave the ball to Yousuf Mulumbu. Orlando rose and was about to push Mulumbu down with his bodies, however, Mulumbu had enough strength to withstand the pressure from Orlando. Then, Mulumbu turned past Orlando and dribbled the ball forward.

In front of the penalty box, Mulumbu gave the ball to Shane Long who went down. Shane Long was guarded by Okhalo, but he cleverly back-passed into the box behind him. Lukaku seemed to understand Shane Long's intentions, so he moved behind Okhalo as soon as the ball came in, Lukaku pushed the ball forward and delivered a powerful shot towards goalpost.

The ball slid so fast to the right side of the goalpost. However, the direction of the ball was too wide, so the ball went outside the penalty box. West Brom failed to take advantage of the opportunities they got. They also failed to get their first shot on target.

In the 24th minute, West Brom tried their luck by attacking from the middle. Claudio Yacub pushed the ball forward and provided a flat pass towards Yousuf Mulumbu. However, this time Bennet could cut the ball by sliding on the grass. Then Bennet got up and gave a pass to Freddy who rose to the front. Freddy received Bennet's pass and brought it to the front of the penalty box.

Freddy faced Ridgewell, he pushed the ball to the right, then broke through to the left quickly. Ridgewell was able to catch up to Freddy's pace and not be fooled by his tricks. But at that moment, Freddy turned his body while pulling the ball to the right. He changed the direction of the ball so well that Ridgewell struggled to catch Freddy. Southampton's right-back broke into the penalty box.

Freddy gave a flat pass towards Kazuki. With only McAurey's guard, Kazuki was able to easily break free and get into a good position, he then received the ball from Freddy and kicked it into the net. The ball slid straight into the center of the goalpost.. Ben Foster stretched his arms ready to catch the ball but the ball slipped between Ben Foster's legs and easily went into the West Bromwich Albion net.