Meet the opposition | West Bromwich Albion
As Swansea City get set to take on West Bromwich Albion, we take a closer look at the Baggies.
What's their story?
Established in 1878 as West Bromwich Albion by workers from Salter’s Spring Works, the Baggies were one of the 12 founding members of the Football League and have surpassed 5,000 EFL fixtures as a club.
Albion have spent much of their history in the top-flight of English football, winning their only league title during the 1919-20 season, whilst enjoying success in the FA Cup on no less than five occasions.
During the 21st century they have had spells in the Premier League, including an eight-year stint which was ended by relegation in 2018.
Six managers in six seasons followed and a return to the top-flight in 2020 proved shortlived as they dropped back to the second tier after one season.
Last season saw the Baggies finish fifth in the Championship under Carlos Corberan, and they will want to be in the play-off mix again this term.
How's their form?
Good. The Baggies are unbeaten in their three Championship fixtures so far this season, winning two and drawing one.
Their seven-point haul has them fourth in the table, among the very early pacesetters.
Who's the gaffer?
Carlos Corberán. Appointed in October 2022 with West Brom sat in the relegation zone, the Spaniard lost his opening match against Sheffield United before leading the Baggies to a remarkable run of nine wins in 10 league outings which put them sixth by the middle of January.
They missed out on the top six that season, but made amends last term by finishing fifth, only to lose to Southampton in the semi-finals.
Corberán was a product of Valencia’s academy but, at the age of 23 - after failing to break into the first team and with only a handful of Spanish fourth-tier appearances under his belt - he hung up his boots in order to pursue a career in coaching.
He began as a highly-regarded fitness coach working with Villareal and Al-Ittihad Club before taking his first head coach role in Cyprus. He first moved to the UK in 2017 as the manager of Leeds United Under-23s and was promoted to the first-team staff by Marcelo Bielsa just over a year later.
After several seasons with Leeds, he took on the head coach role at Huddersfield Town. He spent two seasons there guiding the Terriers to the play-offs during his second term. He exited the Yorkshire club and took a short-lived role at Olympiacos before arriving at The Hawthorns.
Who's the captain?
Jed Wallace. The former Millwall midfielder has been a regular since his arrival at The Hawthorns, although
He came through the youth ranks at Portsmouth and progressed all the way to first-team level, where he scored 30 goals in 121 appearances in all competitions.
From the south-coast he went to Wolves, where he spent two seasons before his move to Millwall, having already enjoyed two successful loan spells with the London Club.
Having already helped them win the League One play-offs, he continued to be an integral and influential figure in the Championship, regularly being a reliable contributor in terms of goals and assists.
However, his spell in south London ended when he moved to West Brom after his contract expired.
Who are the key men?
Josh Maja
The striker has made a red-hot start to the new campaign with four goals in three games, including a hat-trick in the opening-day win over Queens Park Rangers.
A Sunderland academy product who progressed all the way through to the Black Cats first team during a challenging time for the Wearside club, he went on to join French club Bordeaux in January 2019.
Loan spells with Fulham and Stoke followed, before his switch to The Hawthorns in summer of 2023.
A bad ankle injury curtailed his first season with the Baggies, and he will be keen to make up for lost time.
Semi Ajayi
Semi Ajayi has been a regular at the heart of the Baggies defence since joining the club in the summer of 2019.
The one-time Arsenal academy centre-half has since had spells with Cardiff, AFC Wimbledon, Crewe and Rotherham United.
He has made 165 appearances for West Brom, scoring 13 goals during that time.
John Swift
Another player with bags of Championship appearance is midfielder John Swift.
The former Reading man has 15 goals and 10 assists to his name for West Brom as he starts his third season at the Baggies, for whom he has been a creative fulcrum with his composure and quality on the ball.
A Chelsea academy product, Swift had spells with Rotherham, Swindon and Brentford before making the move to Reading in 2016 and spending six years in Berkshire.
He was crucial for the Royals and has proven to be just as important in the west Midlands.