A former Sunderland man is bang in form this season, and could yet come back to haunt the Black Cats.
Regis Le Bris has settled in very quickly at the Stadium of Light, following his summer appointment at Sunderland.
There was an air of the unknown when he arrived and took charge of his first Championship game last season.
But a confident 2-0 win vs Cardiff City set the Black Cats up for what’s been a hugely positive start to this new season, with Sunderland currently in 2nd place of the Championship table.
Sunderland have won five and lost once in the league, compared to 1st place West Brom who’ve won five and drawn once.
The Baggies, along with Sunderland, are the standout teams in the Championship so far this season, but the two don’t meet until the end of November, with the first clash being on Wearside.
Josh Maja in red hot form for West Brom this season
Leading the line for West Brom, and currently leading the Championship scoring chart is former Sunderland man Josh Maja.
The former Black Cats academy man left the club during the 2018/19 season for Bordeaux, where he spent four-and-a-half years before being released last year.
Maja had scored 15 goals in 24 League One appearances for Sunderland before Bordeaux snapped him up in January 2019.
Injury limited him in his first season with the Baggies last time round, with the Nigerian international scoring just once and featuring only 12 times in the Championship.
Already this season, Maja has six goals in six appearances. After scoring the winning goal vs Plymouth Argyle last weekend, Plymouth boss Wayne Rooney said of Maja: “He’s an interesting player, difficult to prepare for.
“He drops in and goes into a false nine position, we were aware of that.
“At times I thought we dealt with him OK but when you are a player who is confident in scoring goals they always seem to get that one opportunity and can make the difference.
“I thought we handled him well at times but he comes up with the moment which wins the game.
“He’s a good player and West Brom are a good team, very experienced and know how to get results.”
Josh Maja could be decisive in Sunderland and West Brom title race
As it stands, Sunderland and West Brom are emerging as the two title challengers. Though during such a long season, teams can drop off and come into contention.
But if Sunderland and West Brom remain in this kind of form then they’ll go to the wire against each other, and Maja could well be the man who has the final say.
He’s in fine form and earning praise from a legendary Premier League striker in Rooney. And when Sunderland and West Brom meet in November, he’ll no doubt want to get one over his old club.
Sunderland fans had mixed feelings about Maja when he left in 2019. But there’s no doubting that he looks the business this season.