West Brom v Sheffield Wednesday: Slaven Bilic to plug cracks in his foundations

In what has been a stellar start to his career as Albion head coach, Bilic has proved adept as both a man-manager as well as a tactician.

Bringing in the likes of attacking duo Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira – and getting the best out of them – has proved a masterstroke by the Croatian.

Their form has helped Albion rocket to the summit of the Championship.

But like any rocket, forward momentum has to come from a solid base – and it is in that respect that Bilic must make the most of his tactical nous.

That’s because he will be without two of his most influential men in midfield pairing Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers.

In Albion’s early-season surge, that duo has provided the base from which Baggies have built upon.

However, they will both sit out the game against the Owls having both picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season in the victory over Hull.

Nathan Ferguson will also be able to get in some early Christmas shopping as he serves the final game of his three-match suspension following his red card against Charlton.

But it is the midfield engine room that will be at the forefront of Bilic’s mind.

On the upside, Bilic has strength in depth in terms of midfielders in his squad.

Gareth Barry is available for selection having finally recovered from his career-threatening knee injury.

The veteran stated this week that he is ‘ready to go’ if called upon, but the former Villa man has only a couple of reserve games under his belt.

Bilic may feel this game, against eighth-placed Wednesday, could be a little too soon to thrust him back into the starting line-up.

It is unlikely Rekeem Harper will start, with the boss appearing distrustful of the youngster’s positional discipline.

Bilic could move Semi Ajayi forward from centre-half to play the enforcer role in front of Kyle Bartley and a returning Ahmed Hegazi, but Ajayi has been performing well in defence.

That leaves a potential defensive midfield pairing of Filip Krovinic and Chris Brunt, perhaps the closest to like-for-like replacements – though without the legs of Livermore and Sawyers.

Whatever formation Bilic opts for though, the boss will know it will have a huge impact on whether Baggies remain in front of, or become part of, the chasing pack by tomorrow evening.

And Wednesday boss Garry Monk believes Albion deserve to be at the summit.

“There’s no denying that they’re the best team in the league so far,” said the former Blues boss. “They’ve got huge quality throughout their squad, their threats are huge.

“They have an array of talent in the squad and the manager has come in and done a fantastic job. He’s had a great start with them.

“Any away game is difficult, particularly against the top of the league, but these are the challenges. We’re looking forward to it, the players are looking forward to it.

“Judging by the way they’ve been for the two weeks we’ve been together, we want to show that. It’s going to be a really good test for us, they’re going to test every part of our physicality, mentality, how far we’ve come.

“It’s not just about Saturday, it’s about the next two or three months, but it starts on Saturday and we look forward to it.”