'We are good at home' - Corberan calls on home advantage for playoff tie with Saints

WEST BROM manager Carlos Corberán has called on home advantage ahead of Sunday's playoff semi-final against Saints.

The Baggies have been formidable at home this season, only losing four games. However,  one of those came against Saints in February.

Corberán's side thrashed Preston 3-0 at home on the final day of the season to secure fifth place and set up this two-legged tie with Southampton.

The Spanish coach was keen to point out that neither side can secure their passage to Wembley this weekend.

He insisted that the game will be won by the team that perform better across 180 minutes of football.

"I don't know what we are going to need to reach our target of Wembley," he told West Brom's media team.

West Brom manager Carlos Corberan (Image: PA)

"I cannot put pressure or frustration by saying that us reaching the final at Wembley will depend on our first game.

"That is not true. What we know is that we are playing at home, and we are strong at home.

"At home, we feel the massive support from our fans. We feel comfortable playing at home. This is going to be the first part for us to achieve our target of arriving at Wembley.

"If we win at home, it doesn't mean that we will have all the options to reach Wembley. The semi-final means that we will play for at least 180 minutes.

"The key is to play well for the majority of those minutes. To perform well we need to take our best behaviours from these 46 weeks."

Southampton have already done the double over West Brom this season, beating them 4-1 on aggregate across both games.

Saints boss Russell Martin has played down the importance of those previous results, claiming that the playoffs are a new competition.

Carlos Corberan was sent off the last time he faced Southampton (Image: PA)

Baggies manager Corberan echoed a similar sentiment: "It is clear that we couldn't beat them in any of the games we played before.

"They have finished the season with 12 points more than us. Of course, they are a strong team.

"That is why they have been in the race for automatic promotion. They are a team that got relegated last year but have built a structure.

"In football and in life, you need to beat important challenges if you are going to be successful. Beating Southampton is one of those."

Asked for a fitness update, Corberan admitted his side have not picked up any injuries since their win over Preston on the final day of the season.

"Fortunately, we will arrive in the game with all of our strong possibilities in terms of the squad we have created."