West Bromwich Albion’s position at the top of the Championship is one that the fans are absolutely loving. The supporters witnessed yet another win on Monday, as they beat Preston North End 1-0 away at Deepdale via a 90th-minute penalty from Charlie Austin.
However, what will be key for the Baggies is maintaining their spot at the top of the second tier of English football, and they simply cannot allow for the likes of the Carabao or FA Cups to jeopardise what could be a title-winning season for Slaven Bilic’s side.
With that in mind, as the West Midlands side were busy beating Preston on Monday, the FA Cup draw for the third round was taking place, and the Championship league leaders are set to face another side in the same division the shape of Charlton Athletic at The Valley (BBC).
Whilst the supporters may absolutely love the idea of going deep into the FA Cup and having a run of games in the tournament that may culminate in a Wembley semi-final and/or final, winning the FA Cup is not as financially impacting as gaining promotion to the Premier League.
The fans may love the idea of winning the FA Cup, but should they go strong in that clash against Charlton and come away with a serious injury to someone like Matheus Pereira, Romain Sawyers, Matt Phillips or another key first-teamer before being drawn away at Anfield or The Etihad in the next round, then it will all be for nothing.
With that in mind, the Baggies will need to write off a cup run and go hard in the Championship. Given that Bilic’s side are 7 points clear of the play-off spots they’re in a strong place, but they cannot afford to let that slip and will need to continue going strong in the league.