Richard Wilford
BBC WM

Image source, Getty Images

Lee Bowyer has had a lot on his plate over the international break as he tries to return Birmingham to an even keel, especially defensively. The early season clean sheets seem a distant memory following dispiriting Championship defeats against Peterborough, QPR and Nottingham Forest, games in which they were partially the architects of their own downfall.

But goalscoring has been a big part of the problem too as, though Blues have been more than capable of creating a host of chances, they have been less competent at finishing them off. Free headers from set-pieces have been spurned, composure has eluded the forwards at key moments and the woodwork has been cruel.

As Bowyer put it himself this week: “We aren’t going to keep missing those chances, it’s impossible, it’s literally impossible. We’ve just got to be more clinical.”

Image source, BBC Sport

West Brom have had a unique, high-octane style of play this season under Valerien Ismael, which has largely got results so far.

They have had just nine sequences of 10+ passes in open play in the Championship, 16 fewer than any other side (Birmingham, Blackburn and Luton all 25).

Alex Mowatt, who followed Ismael from Barnsley this summer, has been instrumental - showing us his signature long-range humdinger on more than one occasion.

Tonight's other EFL game in League One has just started at the Pirelli Stadium.

10th-placed Burton host Morecambe, in 13th.

I'll keep you updated on any developments in the East Midlands.

West Brom make two changes from a fortnight ago - Matt Clarke and Matt Phillips in for Adam Reach and Jordan Hugill - while Grady Diangana is not in the squad.

Birmingham captain Harlee Dean has been dropped to the bench as one of three changes, with Gary Gardner among those to come in and Lukas Jutkiewicz skippering the side.

West Brom: Johnstone, Clarke, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend, Livermore, Mowatt, Furlong, Robinson, Phillips, Grant.

Subs: Bryan, Molumby, Hugill, Reach, Kipre, Snodgrass, Button.

Birmingham: Sarkic, Marc Roberts, Sanderson, Colin, Sunjic, Gardner, Pedersen, Friend, Chong, Hogan, Jutkiewicz.

Subs: Woods, Bela, Dean, Aneke, Graham, Trueman, Deeney.

Rob Gurney
BBC Radio WM Sport

It’s West Brom's first game at The Hawthorns since the fractious Friday night encounter against QPR last month, when West Brom boss Valerien Ismael had his judgement audibly questioned by the fans when he took off Grady Diangana early in the second half.

Karlan Grant then went onto be instrumental in a 3-2 win, however a clearly wounded head coach - understandably for me, in the circumstances of that night - went straight down the tunnel afterwards, and the home fans haven’t seen him since.

Image source, PA Media

He was keen to point out pre-match that his players need to harness the sell-out crowd’s energy this evening by getting off to a fast start, making any reference to what happened three weeks ago irrelevant.

But the freshness of the high-intensity style that made Ismael famous at Barnsley last season seems to have waned already with some Baggies’ supporters, and restoring the harmony that clearly existed in the first few weeks of the campaign will be key to achieving ultimate success.

A victory, and an impressive one at that, this evening, will go some way to silencing the critics and doubters... at least until Wednesday night at Swansea.

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...then Birmingham would have very little chance of victory tonight.

The Blues have won only one of their last nine away league visits to West Brom - a 3-2 win in the Premier League in the 2005-06 season under Steve Bruce - and haven't scored in their past four league games.

West Brom, meanwhile, are unbeaten in seven league meetings with their opponents and are flying high under Valerien Ismael, though they were beaten at Stoke in their last game before the international break.

Despite all of those stats, most of us have followed football for long enough to know it can be a funny old game!

West Brom will go top of the Championship, for 18 hours at least, with victory over their near neighbours at The Hawthorns.

Bournemouth would of course regain the honour should they get at least a point at Bristol City tomorrow.

However if Valerien Ismael's Baggies drop any points tonight, they could be overtaken this weekend by Coventry, Stoke and Fulham.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

For many supporters of clubs in the top two divisions of English football, it has been a long 13 days since the last domestic league action.

But what better way to mark its return than a juicy West Midlands derby under the lights.

West Brom will go top with victory at The Hawthorns but visitors Birmingham will be desperate to halt their run of just one point from five matches before the international break.

We'll also keep you up to date with the League One game between Burton and Morecambe, which starts at 19:45 BST.