Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Premier League's only Midlands derby between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park.
Hosting Villa have struggled so far this season, winning just once under the guidance of new manager Paul Lambert.
In contrast, Steve Clarke's West Brom have collected 10 points from their opening five matches.
Will Villa upset the form book this afternoon? Stay tuned to find out.
5.52pmThanks for joining us this afternoon. Hope you've enjoyed the coverage. Be sure to check out the analysis from Villa Park that will be coming your way shortly.
5.50pmHad Villa have started the match in the way that they ended it, they would have won that match. As it is, West Brom battled hard and deserve their point.
5.49pmFULL TIME: Villa 1-1 West Brom
90 minFour minutes of stoppage time to be played...
88 minHaving said that, Lukaku almost steals it! He finds himself with time and space eight yards from goal but the angle is narrow and Guzan spreads himself well to save.
85 minVilla are now being roared on the home support. If anybody is going to score a winner, it looks to be them.
82 minAnd Bent does what does! Following some pinball inside the West Brom box sub Bent shows great composure to draw Villa level. Why didn't he start?!
80 minGOAL! Villa 1-1 West Brom (Bent)
77 minAlmost an instant impact from Lukaku, who forces Guzan into a low save from 10 yards out. Another goal here for West Brom would surely end this match.
75 minSUBSTITUTION: Lukaku replaces goalscorer Long for West Brom
72 minVilla are now in the ascendancy, but West Brom continue to defend superbly. Steve Clarke will be proud of his side today, that's for sure.
67 minSUBSTITUTION: Here comes Bent and N'Zogbia. They've taken the place of Albrighton and Benteke.
62 minCHANCE! Tamas doesn't mean that but he almost puts West Brom 2-0 up with a cross that forces Guzan to push clear.
57 min...And it is ever so close from Joe Bennett. His whipped effort goes just wide of Foster's post.
55 minFree-kick to Villa on the edge of the West Brom box. Really good chance coming up for the home team...
53 minCHANCE! Almost an immedaite reply from Villa. Benteke looks like he is about to tap into the net, only for Tamas to throw himself in front of the ball to block. What a crazy 60 seconds at Villa Park.
52 minIf at first you don't succeed! Morrison catches the Villa defence sleeping and races through. His low cross finds Long, who rolls the ball into the net from close range. Great play from the impressive Morrison.
51 minGOAL! Villa 0-1 West Brom (Long)
49 minDISALLOWED GOAL! Long thinks he has given West Brom the lead with a fantastic header past Guzan. However, the linesman cuts short the celebrations by raising his flag for offside. Correct decision.
45 minVilla get the second half underway...
5.02pmSUBSTITUTION: Another injury-forced switch for West Brom as Jones is replaced by Tamas. The Baggies now only have one sub remaining.
4.49pmHere's our half-time report of all the action from Villa Park courtesy of Matt Law. Enjoy.
4.48pmVilla have had the better of the match, but they have rarely troubled Foster in the away goal. Anything that the keeper has had to face he has dealt with well. Bit more creativity in the second half please!
4.47pmHALF-TIME: Villa 0-0 West Brom
45 minOne minute of stoppage time to be played...
44 minCHANCE! Oh dear Benteke. He wins possession in a dangerous area but he hesitates before firing high, wide and not very handsome. Take the "eke" of his name and what do you get? Bent! That's right. He's on the Villa bench and you feel he would have scored that.
40 minSAVE! Holman and Foster are having their own personal duel at the moment. The Aussie drills in a low shot from ten yards out that Foster gets down well to.
39 minSUBSTITUTION: Brunt calls it a day and Graham Dorrans comes on in his place. Unfortunate for the skipper.
37 minINJURY! Afternoon over for Chris Brunt by the looks of it. The West Brom skipper pulls up with a hamstring problem. Doesn't look good.
33 minIt's turned into a scrappy match here. Both sides have shown promising signs, but the final pass/shot has been lacking.
29 minCHANCE! A free-flowing move by Villa ends with Benteke curling a shot beyond Foster's post. The striker needed a bit more composure there.
26 min...which like the four others before them comes to nothing.
25 minSAVE! Smart stop from Foster as he tips over a powerful drive from Holman. Corner...
23 minBOOKING! Delph is first to see yellow for a sliding challenge on West Brom skipper Brunt.
20 minAnd up go the Villa fans as we enter the 19th minute. They do this every match for their skipper Petrov, who recently battled with leukaemia. The Bulgarian wears number 19 for the club. Nice touch.
18 minVilla are certainly providing the greater attacking threat at the moment. However, Olsson in particular is standing firm for West Brom. It's little wonder that the club were desperate to tie the Swede down to a new contract.
14 minA third corner from Albrighton is cleared by the Baggies. They're defending really well at the moment.
13 minThe home side have now forced a couple of corners but both of Marc Albrighton's deliveries have been cleared by the West Brom backline.
9 minVilla yet to work Ben Foster in the West Brom goal. They would love to stick a few past him well considering he is a former Birmingham goalkeeper.
5 minCHANCE! Shane Long will be disappointed with that. Morrison flicks the ball onto the Irish striker six yards from goal but his header is tame and the ball bounces clear. Bad miss from a West Brom point of view.
3 minFrantic start at Villa Park. Both sides have been wasteful in possession, but neither have been able to punish the errors as yet.
1 minWest Brom will get this derby encounter off and running...
3.56pmPlayers are on their way out on to the pitch. Only two or three minutes until kick off now...
3.53pmAnd both have made the surprising decision to drop strikers this afternoon. As well as Bent, Lukaku also finds himself on the West Brom bench.
3.48pmSt Mirren! The pair were part of the Scottish side during the late 1980's and remain friends to this day. No doubt that will be put to one side for the next 90 minutes though!
3.47pmThis little fact is not well publicised, but these two managers have actually worked together before. Can anyone guess where?!
3.40pmFor the visiting Baggies Goran Popov will make his first start in the Premier League. There is also an appearance for Shane Long as a lone striker.
3.39pmWest Brom X1: Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Popov; Mulumbu, Yacob, Gera, Morrison, Brunt; Long
3.39pmSpotted it yet? Of course - Darren Bent isn't there! The England man has been forced to settle for a place on the bench. Gabriel Agbonlahor is preferred in attack.
3.38pmVilla X1: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Bennett; El Ahmadi, Delph, Albrighton, Holman; Agbonlahor, Benteke
3.37pmAnd without further ado, let's bring you some team news. Hold on to your hats Villa fans, there's a bit of a surprise in your starting lineup...
3.35pmHere we go again then. The second derby match from this part of the world following Derby County's 1-0 win over rivals Nottingham Forest earlier today.
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