West Bromwich Albion welcomed local rivals Aston Villa to a wintery Hawthorns on Saturday evening.
The Baggies began the game 10 places and 14 points above Villa, who needed a draw or a win to climb out of the relegation zone.
Albion were celebrating before kick off, as the game was their 250th in the Premier League.
Revisit the action below with Sports Mole's blow-by-blow updates to see whether the Baggies were still in celebratory mood at the end of the match.
The West Midlands has been one of Britain's worst affected areas in terms of snowfall this week, but, thanks to the concerted efforts of West Brom's club staff, the game goes ahead.
Baggies trio Claudio Yacob, Shane Long and Marc-Antoine Fortune are currently going through late fitness tests. We will bring you the lineups as soon as they are released to see whether any of them are ok to play.
West Brom boss Steve Clarke describes today's match as a "massive game", but he says that Villa's predicament does not make it bigger than usual.
Clarke: "It's a massive game for the club, but it's not any bigger than it was going to be anyway."
West Brom have had the edge over Villa in the past two years. The Baggies have won two and drawn two of the last four meetings.
Villa have not beaten West Brom since 2010.
Only Reading and Wigan Athletic have conceded more Premier League goals than Villa this season - that stat will excite Baggies topscorer Romelu Lukaku, who has found the net nine times in 20 top-flight appearances this season.
The final whistles have gone in today's 3pm kick-offs. Here are the results: Liverpool 5-0 Norwich, Man City 2-0 Fulham, Newcastle 1-2 Reading,
Swansea 3-1 Stoke, West Ham 1-1 QPR, Wigan 2-3 Sunderland.
Swansea 3-1 Stoke, West Ham 1-1 QPR, Wigan 2-3 Sunderland.
Reading's victory is bad news for Villa, who drop one place to 18th as a result. However, the Villans will climb out of the relegation zone if they avoid defeat tonight.
Meanwhile, West Brom can leapfrog Swansea, Liverpool and Arsenal into sixth if they claim maximum points.
WEST BROM STARTING XI: Ben Foster, Jonas Olsson, Liam Ridgewell, Gareth McAuley, Billy Jones, Claudio Yacob, Chris Brunt, Graham Dorrans, Peter Odemwingie, James Morrison, Romelu Lukaku
ASTON VILLA STARTING XI: Brad Guzan, Ron Vlaar, Ciaran Clark, Joseph Bennett, Nathan Baker, Ashley Westwood, Fabian Delph, Matthew Lowton, Charles N'Zogbia, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Christian Benteke
WEST BROM SUBS: Boaz Myhill, Goran Popov, Craig Dawson, Gabriel Tamas, Jerome Thomas, George Thorne, Markus Rosenberg
ASTON VILLA: Andy Marshall, Barry Bannan, Eric Lichaj, Stephen Ireland, Brett Holman, Darren Bent, Jordan Bowery
It would appear that Long and Fortune have failed their fitness tests, but Yacob starts in the centre of midfield for the hosts after overcoming a hamstring injury.
He is partnered by Dorrans, as Clarke makes six changes following Tuesday's 1-0 FA Cup defeat to QPR.
Meanwhile, Villa welcome back captain Vlaar, who has spent the last two months on the sidelines with a calf injury.
Agbonlahor also returns to the visitors' starting XI, as Andreas Weimann drops out.
Today's referee is Lee Probert. The 40-year-old official has shown 40 yellow cards and one red in 14 top-flight games this season.
The players are out on the pitch, which, considering the recent weather, is in a surprising good state.
Both sets of players are huddled in the centre circle to observe a minute's applause for former West Brom forward Derek Kevan, who died at the age of 77 earlier this month.
West Brom get the match underway and they will be attacking the stand where the away supporters are housed during the first half.
Villa make a bright start and Delph wins a corner kick as he fires in a long-range effort, which deflects wide off Jones.
Benteke fouls a West Brom defender and the danger is over.
CHANCE! Odemwingie gets away from Baker down the right with a clever piece of skill. He crosses the ball towards Lukaku, whose low shot deflects behind for a corner.
INJURY! It looks like Baker has pulled his hamstring and he won't be able to continue.
SUB: Eric Lichaj comes on for the unfortunate Baker.
The corner is aimed towards Olsson, who fails to connect cleanly. Villa clear.
Lukaku sprints away down the left and crosses low into the six-yard box. Odemwingie attacks the ball, but Guzan displays terrific bravery to get there first and cling on.
GOAL! Benteke scores his 10th goal of the season and Villa lead 1-0.
The Belgian collects the ball 25 yards out with his back to goal. He then turns and smashes it into the far top corner, leaving Foster with no chance.
Villa have looked good so far. The pace and power of Benteke and Agbonlahor are causing the Baggies defenders plenty of problems.
Delph sprints back to tackle Odemwingie, giving the hosts their second corner of the night.
CHANCE! The corner is only half cleared and Morrison swings a leg at the ball, but sends his volley straight into the arms of Guzan.
BOOKINGS! Agbonlahor and Olsson disagree over the award of a goal kick - the Villa forward wanted a corner. The pair then square up briefly, which sees them both earn yellow cards.
Odemwingie jinks inside from the right before firing high and wide from 25 yards.
Agbonlahor teases Jones down the left and then plays in N'Zogbia, whose low cross is deflected behind for a corner.
CHANCE! Vlaar attacks the inswinging corner at the near post, but the ball glances off his head and skids wide for a goal kick.
GOAL! Agbonlahor finds the net and Villa are 2-0 up.
Great counter-attacking goal from Villa. N'Zogbia breaks away down the right and plays a neat pass inside to Agbonlahor, who wrong-foots McAuley with a clever piece of skill before slotting home left-footed from 10 yards.
Dorrans unleashes a powerful shot from all of 30 yards. It looks destined for the net, but Guzan makes a great stop diving to his left - he holds the ball too.
INJURY! Yacob appears to be struggling. It looks like more hamstring trouble for the Argentina international.
SUB: Yacob goes off and is replaced by Thomas. That's an attacking move from Clarke.
I'm glad that I'm not a West Brom player right now. Clarke looks furious on the touchline and I am sure that the Scot is planning to vent his fury at half time.
CLOSE! Good link-up play between Brunt, Odemwingie and Dorrans ends with the latter fizzing a first-time shot just wide from the edge of the area.
SAVE! Villa very nearly go 3-0 up as N'Zogbia gets into the box down the right and squares for Lichaj, who is denied at point-blank range by Foster with a vital parry.
BOOKING! Lukaku lunges in high and late on N'Zogbia. The on-loan Chelsea forward is shown a yellow card, but he could easily have seen red for that!
Guzan continues to impress in the Villa goal, as he holds onto a powerful long-range effort from Brunt.
HALF TIME: West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Aston Villa
The West Brom fans express their disgust at their team's first-half showing, as the players head for the dressing rooms surrounded by a chorus a boos from three sides of the stadium.
The Villa supporters, meanwhile, are having a whale of a time!
Click here to view Liam Apicella's half-time report.
The home team have had 51 percent of possession so far and registered 12 shots, compared to Villa's seven.
Villa have been much more accurate, though. The visitors have been on target with five of their shots, while the Baggies have forced just four saves out of Guzan.
The Villans have taken three of the game's five corners and committed seven of the game's 11 fouls.
Villa get the second half underway. There have been no substitutions from either side during the break.
This could be a massive 45 minutes in the context of Villa's season. If they can hang on and claim their first league win in six games they will climb to 16th and open up a three-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.
GOAL! Brunt halves Villa's lead with a clinical finish. It's now just 2-1 to the away side.
Lukaku collects the ball on the edge of the six-yard box with his back to goal. He holds off the challenge of a Villa defender and then lays the ball into the path of Brunt, who sidefoots home from 18 yards.
That was the last thing that Villa needed and Lambert's young side now look very edgy.
SUB: Bannan comes on for Villa in place of Delph, who leaves the field gingerly.
PENALTY APPEAL! Odemwingie goes down under the challenge Westwood. The referee is not at all interested. It would have been a very harsh award.
Villa have responded well in the last few minutes and the visitors have a corner.
BOOKING! West Brom clear the corner and immediately launch a counter-attack, which is halted as Thomas is upended on the halfway line by Lichaj, who is rightly shown a yellow card.
CHANCE! Agbonlahor uses his pace to race away from Olsson and into a one-on-one situation against Foster, who rushes out to make a vital block.
BOOKING! This game is really heating up now! Lowton becomes the fifth player to receive a yellow card as he fouls Odemwingie and then walks off with the ball in his hands.
BOOKING! Yellow card number six - Dorrans enters the book for bringing down Agbonlahor.
CHANCE! West Brom win a corner, which is delivered onto the head of Olsson, whose shot is hacked off the goalline.
SUB: Villa make their final change, as Holman replaces N'Zogbia.
CHANCE! What an opportunity for Odemwingie! The Nigeria international gets in behind the Villa backline and takes the ball around goalkeeper Guzan before losing his balance and shooting high and wide.
Thomas and Lukaku combine to send Odemwingie away down the left. Odemwingie crosses low and hard, but there is no West Brom player in the middle.
West Brom win their fourth corner of the game, but Brunt's whipped delivery is punched away by Guzan, who has been fantastic today.
Villa are begging to sit deeper and deeper. This is going to be a very nervy 15 minutes for the supporters of the away side.
Odemwingie, who has been lively if not clinical, goes on a mazy run, but drags his shot just wide from 18 yards.
Odemwingie tries his luck again from the edge of the area, but balloons his left-footed effort into row Z.
SUB: Rosenberg replaces Dorrans, as West Brom look to beef up their attack for the final 10 minutes.
Guzan makes his first error of the match. The American dives at Lukaku's and gathers the ball well, but the then loses control, allowing the ball to skid behind for a corner to West Brom.
GOAL! Odemwingie finds the net and West Brom are level! 2-2.
Brunt's corner is nodded back across goal at the far post by McAuley into the path of Odemwingie, who volleys into the net from close range.
CHANCE! It's all West Brom now! Rosenberg is dispossessed on the edge of the area, but the ball rebounds into the path of Lukaku, who hammers the ball wide from 22 yards. Guzan did not move.
CHANCE! Brunt's whips in an inviting cross from the left, which finds the head of Odemwingie, who heads just over.
The fourth official has indicated that a minimum of four added minutes will now be played.
Villa get lucky at the back as, under pressure from Lukaku, Lowton stabs the ball back to his keeper, who catches and, to the dismay of the home crowd, is not penalised for a back-pass.
Lukaku fires in a low cross from the left, which Lichaj does extremely well to clear behind. The corner comes to nothing.
SUB: Brunt appears to be limping as he is replaced by Dawson.
FT: West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Aston Villa
Villa will obviously be disappointed after letting a two-goal lead slip, but their performance was full of positives. They move out of the relegation zone and if they continue to play like this they should beat the drop.
Thank you for joining Sports Mole for today's derby action. I hope to see you again soon.
Written by
Robert Summerscales
Robert Summerscales
