Josh Maja ready for Sunderland fixture despite West Brom's disappointment against Leicester City

Josh Maja says West Brom can take positives from their 2-1 defeat against Leicester - despite losing the game in stoppage time.

Maja came off the bench to score his first goal for the Baggies in the 89th minute, his third appearance since returning from an ankle injury, yet there was still time for Harry Winks to score a dramatic winner at The Hawthorns.

West Brom, who are fifth in the table, will now prepare for Saturday’s trip to Sunderland, when Maja will come up against the club he left in 2019.

“We’re obviously really disappointed. We showed a lot of character and we can take a lot of positives from today, despite the disappointment of the result,” Maja told West Brom’s website after the Leicester match. “Hopefully we can bounce back quickly.”

“It’s football. It’s life. It’s one of those things. We had a lot of confidence after the goal and I think it shows how much character we have, the fact we pushed hard for the win against a side sat at the top of the league. It didn’t happen, but we’ll take the positives and move forward.”

“It was a close game. It came down to fine margins and we have to learn from it. The gaffer was proud of the desire we showed going for the win. We’ve had a tough week and we’ve taken six points from nine, which is positive.”

Maja joined West Brom on a three-year deal in August after leaving French side Bordeaux. When asked about his first goal for the Baggies, the striker replied: “It was a big moment for me to get my first goal for the club. Hopefully it’s the first of many.

“I was grateful to get more minutes and I want to show everyone what I can do and play my part in helping this club win games. We can’t get too disheartened by this result because we went toe-to-toe with Leicester.”

Sunderland are five points behind West Brom and sit ninth after their 1-1 draw at Millwall.