West Bromwich Albion welcomed Aston Villa to The Hawthorns this evening hoping to extend their unbeaten run of five matches against their West Midlands rivals.
Shane Long scored two excellent solo efforts in the opening 11 minutes to give the Baggies a two-goal advantage, which could have been increased when Stephane Sessegnon missed from six yards.
Karim El Ahmadi pulled one back for the Villans on 68 minutes with a smart side-foot finish from close range, and Ashley Westwood earned Paul Lambert's side a point with his first goal for the club.
The midfielder controlled a headed clearance from Goran Popov and hit a 25-yard swerving shot inside Boaz Myhill's post to see the contest end in a repeat of the 2-2 draw from last season's fixture.
Below, you can read how the action unfolded, courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute coverage.
Evening, all! The Premier League weekend ends with the first West Midlands derby of the season. If it is anywhere near as good as the Merseyside one, then we are in for a real treat at The Hawthorns.
Only goal difference separates West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa in the table, so we can expect an even contest this evening. Team news on its way. The big question is, will Benteke be fit?
WBA: Myhill; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Popov; Mulumbu, Yacob; Amalfitano, Sessegnon, Brunt; Long
SUBS: Daniels, Morrison, Berahino, Dawson, Vydra, Anelka, Anichebe
VILLA: Guzan; Bacuna, Vlaar, Clark, Baker; El Ahmadi, Westwood, Sylla, Tonev; Benteke, Kozak
SUBS: Steer, Weimann, Herd, Bowery, Lowton, Delph, Agbonlahor
A massive plus for Villa - Benteke has overcome the knee injury that made him a doubt for this fixture. Visiting boss Paul Lambert again partners him with summer signing Libor Kozak.
The pairing of the two big men up front last time out helped the Villans end their four-game goal drought, with Czech international Kozak on the scoresheet, and Lambert persists with 4-4-2.
The Scot has pace merchants Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor available again after injury, but they have to make do with places on the bench as Aleksandar Tonev starts on the left.
Karim El Ahmadi, usually a central midfielder, will perform a makeshift role off the right flank, and will cut inside to allow Leandro Bacuna, whose scored twice for Villa this season, to gallop forward.
It is the same Villa XI that started the 2-0 victory over Cardiff City a fortnight ago, but where they are strengthened is in their potential attacking reinforcements among the substitutes.
The hosts are also fairly unaltered, with Steve Clarke only making one enforced change, swapping the injured Liam Ridgewell for Goran Popov, who makes his first start of the season at left-back.
West Brom themselves have a bench full of offensive-minded players and goalscorers, including Nicholas Anelka, Victor Anichebe, Matej Vyrda and England Under-21 star Saido Berahino.
But Clarke continues to prefer Shane Long as his lone forward, despite showing a willingness to sell the Republic of Ireland striker, who has now started the club's last three games, in the summer.
Ben Foster is still absent, so Boaz Myhill again deputises in goal, while Youssouf Mulumbu and Claudio Yacob's impressive midfield partnership keeps James Morrison out of the team.
Remarkably, Villa have picked up more wins on the road under Lambert than they have at home. Many people put that down to their counter-attacking style, but the defence has played its part too.
They visit The Hawthorns looking for their fourth straight away clean sheet, with the young defenders criticised after heavy defeats last term flourishing alongside the ever-present Ron Vlaar.
West Brom will be full of confidence tonight, though, having lost just one of their last nine matches. They may still be a bit angry, too, following the controversial late penalty that cost them victory over Chelsea and led to Steve Clarke receiving an apologetic phone call from referee chief Mike Riley.
Ten minutes until kickoff under the lights at a very cold Hawthorns. The atmosphere is pretty warm, though, as the two sets of fans keep their fingers crossed for bragging rights at work tomorrow!
ONE TO WATCH: With this Premier League fixture never having been decided by more than a one-goal winning margin, I'm expecting an even game that may need a moment of quality to separate the sides. Leandro Bacuna has already shown that he has an eye for the spectacular this season with two brilliant free kicks. He loves to get forward from right-back too. A real attacking threat.
PREDICTION: Like I've said, I expect that it will be an even contest, but that doesn't mean that there will not be goals. Benteke has gone five without finding the net, which is a drought considering his record in England, and I reckon that he'll find his shooting boots tonight to inspire Villa to a 3-2 win.
The action is underway in the West Midlands...
GOAL! WEST BROM 1-0 VILLA (SHANE LONG)
I predicted that there would be goals, and we have only had to wait three minutes for one! Chris Brunt pings a measured ball over the top, and Long's first touch is sublime as he plucks it out of the sky. His second is decent too, as he shifts it onto his left foot before firing it low beyond Brad Guzan and into the bottom corner. What a start for Albion, whose fans are absolutely bouncing!
SAVE! Villa respond well as Tonev produces a fine save out of Myhill. The Bulgarian was allowed to cut inside from the left and accepted the invitation to shoot from distance. His swerving strike takes a deflection off the head of Gareth McAuley and forces Myhill into a reflex save around his post.
This tall Villa side will fancy their chances from corners tonight, but their first of the evening brings about a Baggies counter attack. The hosts win a set piece of their own, which Brunt launches into the box. Guzan comes off his line to claim, which he does at the second attempt after an initial fumble.
SHOT! Good hold up play from Kozak on the left flank as he muscles off Jonas Olsson and passes inside to Benteke, who rolls the ball into the path of Tonev. The Bulgarian again cuts back onto his right foot and gets a shot away, but this time it is low and weak and Myhill gathers comfortably.
GOAL! WEST BROM 2-0 VILLA (SHANE LONG)
A great start for the hosts becomes a dream start with a second for Long inside 11 minutes. It's a nightmare for Bacuna, though, whose square pass across his defence to Clark doesn't have anywhere near enough on it. Long pounces on the loose ball, fools Baker with a step over and then chips the ball over the outrushing Guzan, via the underside of the crossbar, into the net. Lovely finish.
"There's only one Shane Long", sing the Baggies supporters. There will be question marks over the defending for both of his goals, but my word did the Irishman take them with supreme confidence.
A third here for the Baggies may kill this game off before Villa have even started. Mulumbu gets forward down the right and fizzes a ball across the six-yard box, but there is no Albion man in sight.
Looking for a silver lining, Villa fans? Well I'll try my best. No team has recovered more points from losing positions than Paul Lambert's men in the Premier League this season. How's that for you?
MISS! It could, and perhaps should be, game over already! Tonev falls asleep as he allows West Brom to take a quick free kick and release Amalfitano, who has acres of space on the right wing. Long makes a run to the near post, but the Frenchman instead picks out Sessegnon, who from six yards out, unmarked and in the centre of the goal, scuffs his side-foot finish wide. What an opportunity, squandered!
Much more assured glovework from Guzan on this occasion, as he safely holds an Amalfitano free kick from deep on the left touchline under heavy pressure from the jumping Olsson.
WOODWORK! Villa's strikers combine for the first time this evening, as Benteke leaps above Olsson to win a header on to Kozak. He controls it well, before cleverly flicking it into his path for a 22-yard half volley which flies towards the West Brom goal and clips the crossbar on its way over. Great effort.
Long threatens again as Amalfitano launches a 50-yard ball over the top. The Villa defence stop for a moment, distracted by the run of Brunt, who was almost definitely offside. Only Vlaar is aware of Long sneaking in around the back, and the Duthcman slides in brilliantly on him as he entered the box to prevent the striker getting a shooting chance for a third inside the opening half-an-hour.
SHOT! Long is almost unplayable at the moment. He picks up the ball on the halfway line and drives at the Villa defence, switching up gears rapidly as he leaves Vlaar for dead. He has the beating of Baker too as he charges to the edge of the area before unleashing a stinging shot which would have beaten Guzan had it not been straight at him. The American punches away.
Clark wins Villa a free kick with a rare venture into the West Brom half. Bacuna delivers towards Benteke, who wins his back-post header, but can't direct it anywhere other than over the crossbar.
El Ahmadi flicks a Kozak knockdown into the path of Benteke, who is operating as the deeper of the two Villa strikers. He tries to bend a shot into the far corner, but it is blocked by his own teammate.
Popov plays Sessegnon in on the left side of the area. Long is available for a cutback on the edge of the box, but the playmaker turns to square up Vlaar and loses the ball by overcomplicating things.
SHOT! Tonev's third strike on goal this evening brings no more success than the previous two. Benteke has space to run into, but instead passes to the Bulgarian, whose left-footed drive has all the pace taken out of it as it catches the studs of Reid, and is easy pickings for Myhill at the near post.
A Villa goal before the break would give them momentum heading into the second period and this tie a different complexion at the interval. They have yet to have a clear sight of goal, though, with lone frontman Long causing the visitors way more problems than Villa's two big men have the Baggies.
We are now entering first-half stoppage time, of which there will be just ONE minute...
HALF TIME: WEST BROM 2-0 VILLA
Villa have simply been blown away by Shane Long's blistering start to the contest. The Irishman netted two goals inside the opening 11 minutes to put West Brom in control of this Midlands derby.
And he did it in style, too. The first touch for his opener, as he controlled Chris Brunt's measured long pass over the top, was Berbatov-esque, and his finish not bad either, a powerful strike into the bottom corner with his weaker foot. Long's second showed the opportunism and composure of a striker in top form, which on the basis of his first-half display at The Hawthorns, you would have to argue that he is.
BENCH WATCH: Paul Lambert certainly needs to change things to alter the pattern of this match. He has options on the bench, in the shape of Weimann and Agbonlahor. Bringing one of those two on to play on the right, where Villa have lacked an attacking outlet, may open the game up even further, but would also provide them with the width which could result in better service for Benteke and Kozak.
STATS: The Villans enter the break having had 53% of possession and as many shots on target [three] as Albion, but those figures are misleading. The Baggies are good value for their 2-0 lead, which could have been more had an unmarked Sessegnon converted Amalfitano's cross from six yards.
The action has resumed in the West Midlands, with both sides unchanged...
Brunt is dispossessed by Sylla in the middle of the Villa half, but the Frenchman's poke falls kindly to Sessegnon, who gets the ball trapped under his feet as he looked to run at Vlaar.
Long does very well to chase down another chip beyond the Villa defence, as he hooks it across the danger area. He is without support, though, and Clark can chest back into Guzan's hands.
BOOKING: Mulumbu is shown his fourth yellow card of the season for catching Tonev on the ankle after the Bulgarian had smartly turned inside him and looked to launch a Villa counter.
SHOT! Amalfitano has shown a willingness to get to the byline, but here he cuts inside from the West Brom right. He is off balance, though, as he slices his shot some distance wide of the far post.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Lambert is going for broke here with a triple substitution - you don't see that very often. Weimann, Agbonlahor and Fabian Delph are on for Tonev, Sylla and Kozak.
CLOSE! Weimann nearly has an immediate impact as his 25-yard shot skips off the turf and is awkward for Myhill, who parries it, very nearly into his own net, inches wide of the post.
CHANCE! For the second time tonight, Sessegnon misses the target when he really should have scored. Bacuna affords Amalfitano way too much space to travel into the box. The Frenchman has Long at the back post, but instead pulls a cross back for Sessegnon, who blazes over from 10 yards.
Benteke wins the aerial duel with Olsson and then is first to react to the second ball, but his ambitious attempt at a 20-yard left-foot volley bobbles along the floor and into Myhill's gloves.
GOAL! WEST BROM 2-1 VILLA (KARIM EL AHMADI)
The visitors pull one back, and it is El Ahmadi with his second goal of the season. Bacuna's cross is flicked on by Weimann. The ball drops over the shoulder of an unmarked El Ahmadi in the area and he makes a rather tricky side-foot finish over Myhill look very easy indeed. Villa's tails are up now. Game on!
The only other time that El Ahmadi has found the net this season was in the 3-2 Premier League win over Manchester City. Can his goal set another Villa comeback in motion this evening?
SUBSTITUTION: Steve Clarke responds to Villa's goal by swapping Sessegnon for the more defensive-minded James Morrison in midfield. It just wasn't the former Sunderland man's night.
Long has a hat-trick in his sights, but the prospect of taking the match ball home blights his judgement, as he takes on a lazy shot from 20 yards, when Brunt had made a run on the overlap.
GOAL! WEST BROM 2-2 VILLA (ASHLEY WESTWOOD)
On a night of very good goals, Westwood has equalised for Villa with a great strike! Popov's clearing header isn't the best, and it lands at the feet of the former Crewe midfielder, whose first touch set up him perfectly for a 25-yard shot that swerved away from Myhill and inside the post!
Both of the meetings between these two sides last season ended 2-2, but the scoring may not be finished yet. Villa are now pushing for a third that would complete a fantastic turnaround.
Reid delivers an early cross, and Long is as sharp as ever as he makes a darting run to the near post. He can't finish this time, though, as his guided shot flies some way over the crossbar.
SUBSTITUTION: A positive change from Clarke, who introduces Victor Anichebe alongside Long. Popov is sacrificed, a move which will see Brunt drop to left-back and Morrison shifted out wide.
What a waste from Weimann, who smashes a 25-yard volley high into the stands after Benteke had found his feet with a towering knockdown. There was so much space for the Austrian to run into.
BOOKING: Clark is the first man wearing claret and blue this evening to be cautioned after pulling the shirt of Anichebe, who has the strength to win his 50-50s with the Irishman, you would imagine.
Benteke is now winning every header up against Olsson, and Villa are getting plenty of bodies up in support of the Belgian striker. El Ahmadi tries to latch onto his flick on, but is called for offside.
A silly foul from Vlaar on Long gives Albion a chance to pump the ball into the box. Brunt's delivery is headed out for a thrown by Baker as we enter the first of THREE minutes of stoppage time.
Agbonlahor pinches the ball from Amalfitano, but a combination of the retreating Marseille loanee and the excellent Yacob ensure that the Villa man cannot launch a counter attack for his team.
The Baggies have perhaps one final chance as Clark is forced to concede a corner under pressure from Amalfitano, who had a cross towards Anichebe cleared less than a minute earlier.
FULL TIME: WEST BROM 2-2 VILLA
A great turnaround from Villa, who showed the character and belief that has helped them collect more points from losing positions than any other team in the Premier League this season.
Two superb goals from Shane Long inside the opening 11 minutes had put the Baggies in control, but Paul Lambert changed things up with a triple substitution midway through the second half to mastermind a comeback from the visitors. El Ahmadi and Westwood with the goals that earn them a draw.
That's it from me on night where a point was not enough for either Albion or Villa to climb into the top half of the table. Thanks for joining Sports Mole this evening. Until next time...
