We do now have a card for Bristol City's Luke McNally as he slides in a touch late.

Mikey Johnston gets away down the left for Albion but he's offside - his frustration gets the better of him and he boots the ball away - yellow card?

Not for referee Thomas Kirk - he lets that go - does he not know it's the season for exchanging cards?

Image source, Rex Features

West Brom break forward and Darnell Furlong has a speculative effort but again it's blocked.

Both sides are getting plenty of men behind the ball out of possession - looks a bit like a chess match at the moment.

Tony Brown
West Brom's all-time record scorer on BBC Radio WM

It's been an even start so far, both teams have been testing each other out.

There's an anticipation about this crowd at the moment, they're just waiting for something to happen.

This fixture has a decent history of goals and we've not had a draw in the last 13 league meetings of this fixture which was first played back in 1901.

I hope that's not a case of famous last words.

Both sides will now feel they've settled.

Here come Bristol City with their first serious attack and Scott Twine tries a shot but it's weak and blocked - the visitors have woken up.

Steve Hermon
West Brom commentator on BBC Radio WM

Max O'Leary is being congratulated by his team-mates but he almost made a mess of that.

John Swift takes the ball from a short free-kick for Albion and with Bristol City sitting off the home side Swift gets a shot away, which Max O'Leary awkwardly saves.

City were asleep there...

It was a good day for Albion yesterday with their play-off rivals Watford and Blackburn both losing and Middlesbrough only managing a draw at Plymouth so this is a good chance for them to put serious pressure on those sides today.

A quiet start but Torbjorn Heggem gets a shot in for the home side but it's blocked.

Ged Scott
BBC Sport at The Hawthorns

First the good news. After yesterday's shortest day of the year, the nights are at least getting longer again!

Having said that, the lights are already on here at The Hawthorns. The sky is a grim slate grey sky of potential snowiness - and, once again, for the second game running, I had to dodge fallen trees on my way in.

This is winter in West Bromwich.

Tights and gloves are firmly in evidence out there as the players warm up and there's many a red and white Santa hat on in the away end - for insulation and comfort rather than any major fashion statement.

It's the sort of day to test the faith and love of any footie fan - in this meeting of the Championship's draw kings.

Right, for the next 90 minutes forget worrying about if you've got a big enough turkey or if Aunt Mabel will notice you've bought the cheaper brand of her favourite sherry - we're underway at The Hawthorns and there are Championship points to be earned...

Image source, Rex Features

Goalscorers, everyone needs a goalscorer but they come at a premium and there aren't many around.

That's standard manager speak for every club needs a prolific striker, they are expensive and they are difficult to find.

Bristol City could do with one in January according to former Robins defender Chris Honor.

Liam Manning's side are the 11th most potent up front in the Championship this season which matches their position in the division. In fact the 26 goals they have scored are equalled by the 26 they have conceded - remember what we said about trying to break out of the middle pack?

"The big question is are Bristol City going to go out and buy a centre forward in the January transfer window? For me they have to," said Honor, who is part of BBC Radio Bristol's commentary team.

"We are playing some great football; entertaining, exciting, but in front of goal we miss that clinical edge and we need someone who can score 15, 16, 17 goals a season to take the next step on."

In the meantime City will look to Anis Mehmeti (6) and Nahki Wells (5) to keep the goalscoring fires burning.

Image source, Rex Features

It's been quite the week for West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan, who was linked with the now-filled Southampton vacancy and revealed the extent of the club's massive budget cut.

This is Albion's fourth season back in the Championship since relegation from the Premier League and with new owners taking over in February there has been a bit of a reset at The Hawthorns.

Corberan revealed there was a 30% cut in the club's playing budget in the summer, leading to their needing to be some creativity in the transfer market with 14 players leaving and 11 joining.

"We could do things to create a competitive squad, the most competitive we could with financial restrictions, with a lot of new players with no experience in the Championship," Corberan told BBC WM.

With that in mind you maybe would not blame the Baggies boss for having his head turned by speculation linking him with replacing Russell Martin at Southampton, but he was quick to reject any possibility of talking about upping sticks.

"For me it is disrespectful for this great club and our amazing fans to be talking about something that is not related to West Bromwich Albion," he said.

"I am clear on this, so I am going to speak about Bristol, about what we are going to do in the club, that I can control.

"Because there are things I cannot control and I cannot talk about things I cannot control."

Carry on Carlos, I think we get the message...

Image source, BBC Sport

The only movers in the Championship yesterday were Millwall whose 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers put them back into the top 10 under the interim stewardship of David Livermore.

West Bromwich Albion need a three goal winning margin against Bristol City this afternoon to get themselves into the play-off places.

As for the Robins, they are just out of this frame in 11th place but only a win would seem them enter the top 10.

Image source, Getty Images

The top four in the Championship all held their nerve on Saturday to maintain the status quo.

Leaders Sheffield United took 65 minutes to break down Cardiff City before running out 2-0 winners, while second placed Leeds United made no mistake in dispatching Oxford United 4-0.

You could forgive Burnley for possibly slipping up at home to play-off chasing Watford but Scott Parker's side held on to third place with a 2-1 victory.

Sunderland made it three wins from four games and remain fourth with their comeback 2-1 victory over Norwich City.

Blackburn Rovers remain fifth despite losing 1-0 at Millwall and Middlesbrough came from behind three times at Plymouth Argyle to draw 3-3 and are sixth.

Plymouth's failure to hold on against Boro means they drop to the bottom of the table, with Oxford and Portsmouth joining them in the relegation zone on a day of big moves among the strugglers.

Hull City are out of the bottom three as they grabbed a first win under Ruben Selles with Mason Burstow's goal 10 minutes from the end helping them beat Swansea City 2-1.

Portsmouth's 4-1 thrashing of Coventry City pulls them two points clear while Stoke City managed to concede twice to Sheffield Wednesday after the Owls had had Di'Shon Bernard sent-off, and the 2-0 defeat leaves the Potters 19th.

QPR beat Preston North End 2-1 for a fourth win in a seven game unbeaten run which has lifted them seven points clear of trouble and into 14th place.

Image source, Opta

West Bromwich Albion make three changes from the side beaten 2-1 at Watford last weekend.

Callum Styles, Uros Racic and Karlan Grant are replaced by Alex Mowatt, Mikey Johnston and John Swift.

Racic is on the bench but Grant is out of the squad as is Styles who has a hamstring injury.

Good news for Baggies fans is the return of Grady Diangana after six games out injured as he takes a place among the substitutes.

Bristol City also make three changes to their starting line-up after a 1-1 draw with QPR last time out.

Marcus McGuane, Scott Twine and Fally Mayulu get the call to start.

Nahki Wells has picked up an injury which keeps him out of the matchday squad but George Earthy and Yu Hirakawa get places on the bench and there's a welcome return for right-back George Tanner who features for the first time since the start of November.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Rex Features

Eleventh, 14th and 17th - Bristol City's last three finishes in the Championship and this year they are 11th after 21 games.

For a club with not the biggest but by no means the smallest budget in the division that all sounds very respectable, but they are looking to step out of that middle pack and chase down the big boys.

Bristol is the second largest city in England currently without a Premier League team (Sheffield in case you were wondering...) but with a completely rebuilt Ashton Gate offering a capacity of 27,000, an impressive training ground and an ambitious young head coach in Liam Manning the building blocks are in place.

The only trouble is with relegated teams awash with Premier League money it may take something special to even challenge, let alone break, the glass ceiling.

An eight game unbeaten run has been followed by just two wins from the following eight and four defeats - City are without a win in three as they enter the Hawthorns today.

Their four games after today against Luton, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Derby look quite inviting but a win this afternoon would really show the Robins are ready to make the next step in the Championship.

Image source, Rex Features

Just one defeat from their past 13 Championship games should have most Baggies fans feeling quite chipper, but 10 draws in that run tells a slightly different story.

But for Oxford's last minute leveller back in October it would be only one point keeping them out of the play-offs, as it is there is a three point gap to bridge.

Now, three points might not sound that much but when you are the division's lowest goalscorers at home, with eight in 10 games at The Hawthorns, and have the worst home points return of any side in the top 10 you see this is far from a foregone conclusion.

Despite all this, Albion are eighth and have won five of their past eight home meetings with Bristol City by at least a two goal margin.

They might not have hit top gear yet but with the Championship's second top goalscorer, Josh Maja in their ranks and the fourth best defensive record, this could still be a special year for Carlos Corberan's side.

Image source, Rex Features

It is three more sleeps until the big guy arrives but the EFL likes to hand out some early presents and after more drama than you can shake a candy stick at yesterday we have got a cracking looking match today.

West Bromwich Albion are eyeing a victory which could move them back into the top six while Bristol City know three points would put them in the play-off frame heading into the festive fixture bonanza.

So, whether you are milling around a retail park while picking up some 'last minute bits,' in the garage putting together the kids' surprise presents or cooking up the last batch of mince pies, stay with us as we bring you all the action.