Welcome to West Brom versus Aston Villa at The Hawthorns, a West Midlands derby at the wrong end of the Premier League table. Back-to-back wins, and maybe also the depature of Roy Keane, have lifted the mood at Villa, who have now moved up to 11th. West Brom's form is a lot more alarming, however, with just one win in nine matches and one point taken from their last five games. A win today would ease the immediate pressure and earn them a some local pride in the process.
Premier League / Matchday 16
The Hawthorns / 13.12.2014
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- C. Gardner(72')
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Updated 13/12/2014 at 16:54 GMT
4'
Verela does brilliantly down the left wing, making Alan Hutton look very sill with a nutmeg before whipping a cross towards Ideye. Villa clear and Cissokho is down in the area.
3'
West Brom get forward well and feed the ball to Ideye on the left-hand side of the area. He tries to cut inside but can't get past the Villa defenders.
2'
Agbonlahor and Benteke share some early touches as Aston Villa enjoy an early spell of possession in the West Brom half.
1'
And we're underway!
14:59
Mike Dean is refereeing this fixture for the third time. On the previous two occassions, Aston Villa have won...
14:55
The players walk out of the tunnel at The Hawthorns for another West Midlands derby. Will Brown Ideye's first Premier League start for three months prove a master-stroke, or give the Baggies fans another reason to criticise Alan Irvine?
14:50
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has suggested that Ron Vlaar will not find it easy to earn a starting place if Ciaran Clark and Jores Okore continue their excellent form in the heart of defence.
14:45
Another boost for Villa is the return of club captain Ron Vlaar. The Dutch defender has been out since early November with a calf injury, but he is on the bench today. West Brom are without their club captain, however, as Chris Brunt remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
14:40
Villa's recent form suggests they are favourites going into this game. Unbeaten in five and conceding only three times in the process, they are now in a much better place having lost their last six in a row.
14:35
Recent history would suggest that his will end in a draw. Four of the last five games between the two have seen the points shared, with the other ending in a remarkable 4-3 win to Aston Villa.
14:30
It's just one change for Villa from their home win over Leicester City, as Keiran Richardson comes into the team for the injured Ashley Westwood. Westwood suffered medial ligament damage in the win over Leicester and is expected to be out until the New Year.
14:24
Aston Villa could do something today that they haven't done in over four-and-a-half years - earn a third consecutive league win. Narrow victories over Crystal Palace and Leicester have nudged them clear of the relegation zone and a win today would take them into the top half of the table.
14:20
Brown Ideye cost the Baggies around £10 million is the summer, making him their record signing, when he joined from Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev. He has not delivered the goods so far, and there's plenty of pressure on him today having been picked above Barahino.
14:14
The decision not to start Berahino is not a universally popular one.
14:13
There's one other change for the home side from their 0-0 draw at Hull City, with Youssouf Mulumbu dropped to the bench in favour of winger Silvestre Varela.
14:10
The headline from the West Brom team news is that depite Victor Anichebe's injury, Saido Berahino still does not making the starting line-up. The England under-21 international, who is joint-fifth in the Premier League top scorers chart, is left on the bench by Alan Irvine, with Brown Ideye coming into the side instead.
14:00
WEST BROM: Foster, Wisdom, Lescott, McAuley, Pocognoli, Dorrans, Gardner, Morrison, Varela, Sessegnon, Ideye... SUBS: Baird, Myhill, Gamboa, Berahino, Mulumbu, Dawson, Blanco.
///ASTON VILLA: Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Clark, Cissokho, Sanchez, Richardson, Cleverley, N’Zogbia, Agbonlahor, Benteke... SUBS: Vlaar, Weimann, Delph, Herd, Given, Lowton, Grealish.