Two sides with entirely contrasting seasons so far in the Championship will meet this Friday night to kick off a huge gameweek in the second tier as Birmingham City aim to rocket themselves further away from the drop zone.
It's been another dreadful season for Birmingham so far and it has been another campaign in which fans haven't even been able to dream of a finish in the playoffs. Premier League football continues to evade the huge Midlands outfit, and it is looking like being yet another season in which they fail to get into the top half of the table.
As of now, the Blues are coming into this game off the back of a hectic schedule and a position in 18th in the table. They did, however, defeat Swansea City in a stunning 4-3 battle down in South Wales. Scott Hogan scored from the penalty spot that day, before Tahith Chong netted another goal. Stunningly, Birmingham went 3-2 down at one stage but pulled it back to win 4-3 after a goal in the 90th minute from Lukas Jutkiewicz and a goal in the 97th minute from Auston Trusty. It was arguably the club's biggest win of the season.
Last Tuesday, however, John Eustace's side lost 1-0 at St. Andrew's to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup fourth round replay after drawing with the club back at Ewood Park 2-2. A further loss to Preston North End came just prior to this, while also losing to Middlesbrough, Bristol City, Hull City and Burnley since Christmas.
Ultimately, there has been just one win since Christmas for the Blues and they now have to keep an eye on those behind them in the table with just an eight-point gap on the bottom three where Huddersfield Town also have a game in hand.
As for West Brom, it has been a fantastic few months for them since the departure of Steve Bruce and the arrival of Carlos Corberan. The former Terriers' manager has rocketed his side up into sixth and into the playoffs for the first time this season after a win over Coventry City last Friday.
Now playing on a Friday night for the second weekend running, the Baggies are looking to move ahaed of Watford in the table, as they have a game in hand over the Hornets. In fact, with 12 wins on the board now from 29 games, even Boro up in third have just a four-point gap on West Brom having also played a game extra.