Good afternoon everyone! The Premier League is back and there is still everything to play for as we head into the crucial final 10 games of the season. Hoping to end strongly are two teams that have played well since the turn of the year, as West Brom welcome Stoke to the Hawthorns.

Although it has been a good couple of months for West Brom, they come into today's match having lost two games against Aston Villa. In their previous league outing a stoppage-time penalty from Christian Benteke saw them lose 2-1 and they suffered more heartbreak four days later, as goals from Fabian Delph and former Baggie Scott Sinclair dumped them out of the FA Cup.

Since Stoke suffered their own FA Cup misery last month, they have gone on to record three consecutive wins that has all but secured their Premier League survival. They look like a team in great form and although a finish in the European places seems unlikely, a favourable fixture list in the coming weeks at least gives them an outside chance.

I think it's about time we had a check which players will be turning out at the Hawthorns this afternoon, with the starting lineups for each side announced a few moments ago.

WEST BROM XI: Foster, Dawson, McAuley, Lescott, Brunt, Morrison, Fletcher, Gardner, Sessegnon, Berahino, Ideye

STOKE XI: Begovic, Bardsley, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters, Nzonzi, Whelan, Walters, Adam, Moses, Crouch

WEST BROM SUBS: Myhill, Wisdom, Pocognoli, Olsson, Baird, Mulumbu, Gamboa

STOKE SUBS: Butland; Ireland, Arnautovic, Diouf, Cameron, Sidwell, Teixeira

So, that's how our teams are looking today. West Brom start with Saido Berahino and Brown Ideye in the attack, with James Morrison, Craig Gardner, Darren Fletcher and Stephane Sessegnon making up the midfield. A look at the bench shows that there are no strikers for Pulis to bring on, if his side are in desperate need of a goal.

As for Stoke, the headline news is that captain Ryan Shawcross starts after missing the last six games with an inflamed disc in his back. He comes in for Philipp Wollscheid, in what is the only change made by Mark Hughes. Their main source of a goal seems to be lone frontman Peter Crouch, who has scored four in his last five outings.

It can't have been an easy for week for the fans and players of West Brom, as there isn't much worse than losing to your rivals. There were high hopes that the club could reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but despite a positive start they were eventually beaten 2-0 at Villa Park and a harsh red card for Claudio Yacob means that the Argentine is suspended for today's match.

The Baggies had lost just once in 11 games before their two meetings with Villa and had climbed up to 13th in the Premier League table. Tony Pulis has really turned things around since his arrival at the start of January and with 30 points on the board their relegation worries have significantly eased.

Of course, they are by no means safe yet and they've still got some difficult games to come against Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, but they have become a much more resilient unit. In fact, since Pulis took charge Albion have kept five clean sheets, which is one more than they had managed in the opening 20 games of the season.

As well as their improvements at the back, they have been able to rely on the goals of Saido Berahino, who has scored three in his last four league outings. Fellow striker Brown Ideye has also hit some form in recent weeks and is starting to show why the club forked out a record fee for him last summer.

Let's take a look at the visitors now, who are the league's fourth best club in terms of recent form. The Potters have also enjoyed a 10 day rest following their last match, which was a 2-0 win against Everton that moved them up to eighth in the table.

Prior to that clash against the Toffees, they had beaten Aston Villa thanks to a very late penalty from Victor Moses, before earning a hard-fought 1-0 over Stoke City due to a towering header from substitute Peter Crouch.

It did look as if their season would drift into obscurity following their FA Cup exit at the hands of Blackburn, but it could still turn into a record-breaking campaign for Mark Hughes's side. They currently have 42 points in the league, which is just eight away from their record of 50 points set last season.

If Stoke do manage to pick up the three points this afternoon, then it will be only the second time that they have put together a run of four-consecutive wins in the Premier League. They last achieved that back in 2011, but there is every chance of doing it again today at the Hawthorns, especially given the fact that their only away defeat in the top flight this year was at Arsenal.

In recent years, Stoke have become a bit of a bogey team for West Brom and the Baggies have won just one of the last 16 meetings between the two sides. The overall record between the clubs stands at 60 wins for Stoke and 42 wins for Albion, with the other 35 clashes ending in draws.

Having just seen those facts then, it's no surprise that Stoke came out on top when they met at the end of Decemeber. Mame Biram Diouf scored both goals in a 2-0 win at the Britannia Stadium, in what turned out to be Alan Irvine's last game as West Brom manager before he was sacked two days later.

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PREDICTION: With just a few minutes left until kick off it's time for a quick prediction. West Brom will be down after their recent losses, but Tony Pulis will be desperate for his team to bounce back quickly and not let their previous good run of form go to waste. It will be tough for them against a good Stoke side, who can play with a bit more freedom after their own winning streak. It could be a little scrappy and I expect a real battle in the midfield, with a 1-1 draw how I see it finishing today.

The teams are out of their dressing rooms and leave the tunnel to a packed Hawthorns, with kick off now just four minutes away.

KICKOFF! We are underway at the Hawthorns!

CHANCE! Albion have the first real opening of the match and it's their danger man Berahino. The striker picks the ball up around 30 yards out from goal and he is allowed time to advance, before cracking in a low strike that is pushed behind by Butland.

West Brom have made a really good start to the match and they are completely dominating the possession. They have already forced Stoke to defend some dangerous set pieces deliveries, with their forward players looking very sharp.

SHOT! Stoke just can't handle Berahino at the moment and the striker skips away from a couple of challenges before lashing in a low strike from the edge of the box. It ends up heading straight into the arms of the keeper, but if the Potters keep giving him chances then surely it is only a matter of time until they are punished.

For the first time in the match Stoke have a chance when Sessegnon loses the ball cheaply inside his own half. It falls kindly to Moses, who works some room before firing in a strike, but he can only lash it high over the bar.

The visitors have really come into the contest over the past few minutes and they have just tightened things up slightly. They are being a bit more patient in possession, but Foster is yet to be troubled in the Albion goal.

SHOT! Stoke are looking much more dangerous now and after a decent team move the ball is fed out wide to Pieters. He then whips a great low cross into the middle that Walters arrives to meet at the front post, but he can't get enough power on the strike and it trickles through harmlessly to Foster.

West Brom have been the better side in the opening stages of this match and they deservedly take the lead. Gardner is the creator, as he whips a wonderful ball into the box from the right and Ideye gets in front of Bardsley to guide a superb header into the far corner.

The visitors have come out strongly since falling behind and they are looking for a quick response here. They do well to win a corner and get plenty of players forward, but on this occasion the delivery from Adam is poor and fails to pick out any of his teammates.

West Brom are causing their opponents plenty of problems from their crosses this afternoon and the crowd shout for a penalty when Sessegnon's delivery hits the arm of Bardsley. It did catch the Stoke defender, but he was hardly able to get out of the way and the referee correctly doesn't give anything.

CHANCE! Albion are playing some great football at the moment and Dawson plays a stunning through ball that Berahino races onto. He is at a slightly tight angle and looks to drill a low shot across goal and into the corner, but his effort flashes just wide of the post.

Crouch has been a frustrated figure for Stoke this afternoon, but the striker gives a glimpse of what he can do. He takes down a long ball from the back on his chest, before chipping the ball up and smashing a volley over the bar.

GOAL DISALLOWED! Begovic has just got away with an absolute howler here. A through ball looking for Ideye is slightly too long for the striker, but as the keeper comes to claim he ends up spilling the ball. Ideye then has the simple task of finishing into an empty net, but he was initially standing in an offside position and the goal is chalked off.

Pulis was fuming after that goal was ruled out, but the replays showed that Ideye was clearly offside. There was a slight bit of controversy as it took the linesman quite some time to lift his flag, but in the end the right decision was made.

Stoke have been guilty of a couple of poor challenges and their two strikers are both left on the floor in quick succession. Berahino has got up and looks slightly angered, while Ideye limps to the side of the pitch to receive a bit of medical attention.

It doesn't look as if we will be seeing any more goals before the end of the half, with West Brom keeping hold of the ball. Stoke just haven't offered enough and Foster has hardly had anything to do this afternoon.

We are going to have two minutes added on to the end of this fist half.

The opening 45 minutes at the Hawthorns is over and Brown Ideye's header has given West Brom the lead over Stoke. There is no doubt that they deserve it after a very good performance, but the Potters just haven't got started yet.

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Here's how the teams shaped up in that first half. Stoke may have slightly shaded the possession, with 52% of the ball, but they only managed three attempts on goal and they were all off target. Meanwhile, the Baggies got three of their seven strikes on target and looked a constant threat in the final third.

Let's take a quick look at the half-time scores from around the country. Arsenal are leading against West Ham thanks to Olivier Giroud's strike, but there are no goals so far in Leicester's clash against Hull. The most extraordinary scoreline of the afternoon has to be at the Stadium of Light, where Aston Villa are currently 4-0 up against Sunderland!

Right, the players have just made their way back out onto the pitch and the second half is now just a few moments away.

Stoke take the kick off and get us back underway! The Potters have also made a change, with Cameron replacing Pieters.

The visitors have begun the half on the front foot and they are enjoying plenty of the ball at the moment. They are also playing a lot more direct, with a number of long balls into the West Brom box looking to pick out Crouch.

SHOT! The direct route almost pays off for Stoke, as Foster comes out to challenge Crouch for a cross and completely misses the ball. It falls to Lescott, who can only clear to Bardsley on the edge of the box, but after cutting onto his left foot the Stoke full back smashes high over the bar.

During that last incident, Foster seemed to land awkwardly on his knee and had to receive some treatment from the medical staff. He comes back on the pitch but doesn't take the goal kick and it remains to be seen just how long he will continue.

YELLOW CARD! Wilson picks up the first booking of the match for a foul on Gardner.

SUBSTITUTION: Foster is unable to shake off that knock he picked up and Myhill comes on to replace him in goal.

SUBSTITUTION: Another player is forced to leave the pitch with an injury this afternoon, as Moses limps off to be replaced by Arnautovic.

Those injuries to Foster and Moses just seem to have stopped any of the momentum that Stoke were building. The visitors were starting to look a real threat and a massive danger in the air, but the stoppages have allowed West Brom to recompose themselves and tighten things up.

SAVE! Myhill is forced into action for the first time since coming on as he reacts well to tip over a dangerous looping header from Walters. He does well from the resulting corner too, with a strong punch to turn the ball behind.

We have seen plenty of stoppages in play and a number of injuries since the break. On this occasion Walters and Dawson clash heads during a corner and they both head off to receive treatment from the very busy medical staff.

SAVE! It's been a while since West Brom threatened, but they break at pace and Ideye is found by Morrison in space inside the box. The striker then shifts the ball onto his right foot and looks to guide a low effort into the bottom corner, but Begovic gets down quickly to tip his shot behind.

SUBSTITUTION: Once again it's an injury enforced substitution, as Walters can't continue after that head injury so Diouf comes on to replace him.

Stoke have been well on top since the break, but over the past few minutes West Brom have started to battle their way back into the game. Ideye and Berahino are showing the sort of threat that they did in the opening half and there is plenty of space for them on the counter.

YELLOW CARD! Diouf is the second Stoke player to be shown a card for a foul from behind on Berahino.

PENALTY APPEAL! The West Brom fans scream for a penalty when Dawson touches the ball past Cameron inside the box and is then taken out by the Stoke player. It looked as if there was contact, but the referee gives nothing.

At the moment, it's West Brom who look more likely to score the next goal, while Stoke seem to have just run out of gas and are inviting pressure from their opponents.

SHOT! The Baggies are pressing hard for a second goal and Morrison is played the ball just outside the box, before looking to drive one into the top corner. It's well hit, but Begovic is across to get a strong hand to the ball and touch it over the bar.

SHOT! When you've got Crouch on the pitch, you've got a chance of a scoring. The big striker is always going to be a danger inside the box and he is picked out by Bardsley's cross to the back post, before heading the ball straight into the keeper's arms.

The late surge seems to have arrived from the visitors and they are getting plenty of men forward now as they launch the ball long. However, Albion are holding firm and you have to say that they would deserve to claim the points this afternoon.

SUBSTITUTION: In a half that has been dominated by injuries, Ideye goes down for the hosts, before limping off to be replaced by Olsson.

There are going to be five minutes of stoppage time.

Bardsley is almost in for the visitors, as he comes inside from the right, before driving into the box. As he is about to pull the trigger, McAuley is there to make a great challenge and stop him in his tracks.

YELLOW CARD! Berahino wastes the chance to seal the points for West Brom by giving the ball away cheaply, before Stoke break and launch the ball over the top to Crouch. The defender then takes the ball past Myhill, who clatters into him and brings him down just outside the box. He ends up picking up a booking, but Stoke can't make anything of the set piece, which is smashed into the wall by Arnautovic.

SUBSTITUTION: Berahino is heading off to waste some time for Albion, with Baird on to replace him.

Michael Oliver blows for full time and West Brom have held on to beat Stoke. That is the perfect response to their two defeats against Aston Villa and they are now 11 points clear of the bottom three. As for Stoke, their winning run stops at three games after an underwhelming display.

I'm afraid that's all we've got time for this afternoon, but make sure you stay with us for the rest of the weekend, as there is plenty more live coverage to come. Until next time, goodbye!