Meet the opposition | West Bromwich Albion
As Swansea City get set to host 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 are in the play-off hunt again this term although the Spaniard recently left to join Valencia.
How's their form?
Solid. The Baggies have lost just four league games this season, the issue has been that they have been among the division's draw specialist, sharing the spoils on a dozen occasions already.
They have lost just two of their last 17 games, but have also only won four during that sequence, although the most recent of those came via a 3-1 triumph over Preston on New Year's Day.
Away from home, they have lost just three games all season, picking up 18 points in total.
Who's the gaffer?
Following Carlos Corberan's departure to Valencia on Christmas Eve, former Baggie skipper Chris Brunt, Damia Abella and ex-Wales goalkeeper Boaz Myhill have been in interim charge of the Baggies.
Brunt, who recently turned 40, spent the majority of his playing career at The Hawthorns, making 421 appearances and scoring 48 goals across 13 years in Baggies colours.
During that time he helped them to three separate promotions to the top-flight.
He also had spells with Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City over a 19-year career that came to an and in 2021.
After hanging up his boots Brunt - who also won 65 caps for Northern Ireland - returned to West Brom as an academy coach and is now part of the group in temporary charge as they search for a successor to Corberan.
Who's the captain?
Jed Wallace. The former Millwall midfielder has been a regular since his arrival at The Hawthorns, although he has been used mainly as a substitute of late.
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 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. He has since increased that tally to 12 with a brace in the win over Preston last time out.
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, but is certainly making up for lost time this term.
Torbjorn Heggem
The left-sided centre-back, who can also cover the full-back positions, arrived from Swedish top-flight club IF Brommapojkarna in the summer and has been among Albion's most consistent and reliable performers this season.
Born in Trondheim, Heggem's talent with local club Astor saw him picked up by Rosenborg at youth level and he featured in the Uefa Youth League for the serial title winners as he rose through the ranks.
An impressive loan spell with Ranheim followed and set up a permanent move to Sandnes Ulf, where he played mostly as a full-back, underlining his versatility.
The switch to IF Brommapojkarna followed in 2023, while Heggem has also won three caps for the Norwegian national team.
Alex Mowatt
A player with bags of Championship appearance, midfielder Alex Mowatt has caught the eye for the Baggies, and has four goals and two assists to his name in the second tier this season.
The 29-year-old came through the academy ranks with Leeds United, and went on to make more than 100 league appearances for the club during a tough period in their history.
He made the move to their Yorkshire rivals Barnsley in January 2017 and went on to spend four-and-a-half years at Oakwell.
Initially viewed as a successor to Conor Hourihane, he was sent on loan to Oxford United during the 2017-18 season, but returned to Oakwell to help the Tykes secure promotion back to the Championship the following campaign.
After avoiding an immediate relegation courtesy of a last-day win over Brentford in 2020, Mowatt was a key figure as Barnsley reached the play-offs, eventually losing the Swans over two legs in the semi-finals.
A move to West Bromwich Albion, following coach Valerien Ismael from Oakwell, followed that summer. Mowatt spent the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Middlesbrough, but has now firmly established himself in Albion's midfield with his tireless displays.