The steely determination once typical of West Bromwich Albion's game that saw them pick up hard-fought win after hard-fought win in the Championship has been lost of late, with the Baggies having to settle for three draws on the spin in the league recently.
Picking up just a point at Stoke City last match would have really stung, considering the Baggies were in pole position to cruise to a comfortable win at 2-0 to the good before the Potters mounted a crushing second-half comeback.
Consequently, Carlos Corberan might well believe some changes have to be made at the back to address the defensive issues that allowed Steven Schumacher's men back into the game.
Darnell Furlong might well now see his settled spot in the first team up for grabs as a result, with the right-back way off his usual standards in the 2-2 draw.
Darnell Furlong's performance vs Stoke City in numbers
Only absent from Corberan's starting eleven twice this season to date in the Championship, it could well prove to be a controversial selection choice by the Baggies manager to drop Furlong for the clash with already relegated Rotherham United later today.
Yet, off the back of such an underwhelming display against the Potters, the West Brom boss might well feel it's necessary to give the experienced head a breather regardless when Leam Richardson's Millers travel down to the Hawthorns.
Minutes played
90
Touches
41
Accurate passes
17/24 (71%)
Duels won
0/2
Tackles
0
Possession lost
14x
As can be seen scanning the table above, Furlong would fail to win any of his duels in the collapse away at the Potters alongside also putting in no tackles.
Losing possession 14 times also, with just 17 accurate passes notched up, Furlong's usual calm and measured approach was non-existent with his defensive partner in Kyle Bartley also struggling against Steven Schumacher's side.
In a bid to get his team out of their slight slump in form, Corberan could throw players back into the mix who have fallen to the wayside at the Hawthorns.
This could start with Pipa coming back into the first-team fold in place of Furlong, the PFC Ludogorets Razgrad loanee finding his minutes more and more irregular as the season drags on but might well fancy his chances of starting against Rotherham now.
Pipa as Darnell Furlong's replacement
Very much regimented in sticking by his reliable first-team faces, this would be out of the ordinary from the West Brom boss to shake things up drastically and start the forgotten figure of Pipa.
Yet, with ex-Liverpool man Martin Kelly still in the Hawthorns treatment room as another potential body who can play at right-back, the 5 foot 9 loanee is Corberan's only other option he can really call upon to come in for Furlong.
Pipa has only started one game all season for West Brom since making the loan switch from Bulgaria, with his last minutes in a Baggies shirt coming in the middle of March against Queens Park Rangers.
The 26-year-old defender would impress from off the bench at Loftus Road in truth, winning two duels and making two tackles from a short but sweet 30-minute cameo in West London.
This could well end up being an inspired change by Corberan if all goes to plan, gifting Furlong some much-needed rest after being a constant fixture in his lineups all campaign long whilst boosting Pipa's confidence at the same time.
Regardless of what team is fielded tonight against Rotherham, the alarm bells would very much start to be sounded with more panic if the Baggies can't overcome the already relegated Millers on their own patch.
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