West Brom head into Friday night's game with Ipswich Town knowing that a victory will move them into second in the table, even if it's only for 24 hours.

The Baggies will be confident after they hammered Leeds 4-1 at The Hawthorns last time out, a result which ended a four game winless run.

Whilst that is a positive, the fact they went four games without a win is quite alarming for a side with Albion's quality.

And, in truth, they haven't really clicked consistently so far in this campaign and Darren Moore will see areas that need to improve.

Therefore, January could be crucial in their promotion push and new faces could help the side produce high-quality moments on a more regular basis.

However, new arrivals could lead to departures as Moore boasts a fairly big squad and won't want to disrupt the balance.

Here we look at TWO players who are surely going to be axed in the New Year...

The experienced attacking midfielder only signed a deal until January so it's probably an easy decision for Moore to move Hoolahan on.

Even though he is sure to be a positive influence on the training ground, the former Norwich man can't really get near the team.

He has managed just four appearances in the league, all as a sub, combining for 86 minutes on the pitch in a few months.

Quite simply, it makes no sense to keep the player on another deal when he isn't needed.

Another player who doesn't get much of a look in is Burke.

Despite his talent, he regularly fails to make the matchday 18 and it's clear he is struggling to adapt to the ideas that Moore has.

He would still command a decent fee in the window and that can be used to bring in players that the manager wants, which looks like the sensible option right now.

[ad_pod ]