Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Premier League between West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United.

We are just weeks away from the end of the season and the important games are coming thick and fast! West Brom are effectively only battling for 11th position but as far as West Ham are concerned, a place in the Europa League is at stake and they know that they will probably finish in fifth spot should they win their remaining games, starting at The Hawthorns this afternoon.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the team news coming from both changing rooms in the West Midlands...

WEST BROMWICH ALBION XI: Foster; Olsson, Yacob, Evans, Gardner, McClean, McAuley, Fletcher, Dawson, Rondon, Leko

WEST BROMWICH ALBION SUBSTITUTES: Myhill; Chester, Lambert, Berahino, Sessegnon, Sandro, Roberts

WEST HAM UNITED XI: Adrian, Antonio, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Kouyate, Noble (c), Sakho, Lanzini, Payet, Carroll

WEST HAM UNITED SUBSTITUTES: Randolph, Tomkins, Collins, Moses, Byram, Emenike, Oxford

Baggies head coach Tony Pulis has welcomed back goalkeeper Ben Foster after an ankle injury but the most significant news comes further forward where 17-year-old Jonathan Leko has been handed a start in place of Stephane Sessegnon. Saido Berahino has recovered from an ankle knock but he only makes the bench.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is able to named an unchanged starting lineup from their 3-1 win over Watford 10 days ago. That means another start for Andy Carroll, who is looking to mount a late bid for England's squad for Euro 2016.

HEAD TO HEAD! This afternoon's fixture represents the 101st time that these two teams have met in a competitive match, with West Brom winning 39 times in comparison to 38 wins for West Ham. Their most recent meetings have seen all three results occur but the Baggies head into today's clash unbeaten in the last three matches.

REVERSE FIXTURE! Two of those three contests have ended in a draw with one of them coming in the reverse fixture in November. Mauro Zarate - now of Fiorentina - netted West Ham's opener before Winston Reid scored an own goal after the break to see the encounter end 1-1. I'd say the same scoreline is a strong possibility this afternoon as well but we'll come to the prediction later.

FORM! If you take a look at our Stat Centre, you can see that West Ham are one of the form sides in the top flight but that probably means little after West Brom held title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night. Unusually, West Ham's away record is better than West Brom's home record but that's down to Pulis's men succumbing to 1-0 defeats to both Norwich City and Watford in recent weeks.

Wonder how Jonathan Leko's nerves are doing right now? West Brom have just tweeted that eight Academy graduates have featured in their first-team squad this seasons. Other clubs should perhaps take note of that...

It is worth pointing out that this isn't Leko's first involvement this season. All the way back in September, he made his senior debut off the bench against Norwich City in the League Cup while more recently, he made cameo appearances at both Sunderland and Manchester City. He has over half-an-hour to his name but today is obviously a huge moment for him and could potentially pave a way for him to feature more regularly next season.

Leko's debut isn't the only notable team news this afternoon. Foster has replaced Boaz Myhill between the sticks but the Welsh stopper must feel hard done by to find himself on the bench after a stunning performance against Spurs on Monday night. Mauricio Pochettino's men would have been out of sight had it not been for Myhill. Pulis has also decided against recalling Berahino and it could be a sign that the attacker will be on his way out of the club in the summer.

There are no such surprise in the West Ham side. Despite suffering just one setback in all competitions through March and April, they had struggled for wins until they comfortably got the better of Watford at Upton Park. They needed two penalties from Mark Noble to get the job done but it was a welcome boost after of their final four games. However, they need their star names to make an impact today in order to ensure that their hard work earlier in the campaign doesn't go to waste. You'd have to fancy Liverpool to beat Swansea City tomorrow so three points are a must.

Some last-minute shooting practice for the Hammers...

PREDICTION! We mentioned earlier that we thought this match would be closely-fought and we are going to plump for the draw. West Ham boast the higher-quality firepower but West Brom showed at the start of the week that they are still motivated to battle for points during their run-in. A 1-1 draw, with West Brom equalising during the closing stages.

The two teams have made their way at The Hawthorns. The weather is very unpredictable in the West Midlands so expect a few showers which should hopefully result in a faster-paced match.

West Ham get us underway!

Quiet start from both teams with neither side coming close to creating a chance. McClean is lucky to avoid a booking after a late challenge on Lanzini.

Payet's free kick which came off the back of that foul was poor and easily cleared. West Brom were able to break but they soon conceded possession back to the visitors. There's a good atmosphere inside The Hawthorns but it isn't inspiring any of the players so far.

CHANCE! Leko's first contribution is to beat Cresswell and provide the cut-back for Gardner but his eventual shot is blocked.

GOAL FLASH! For the benefit of West Brom fans, we will try to keep you up-to-date with the match between Everton and Bournemouth. There has been two goals already, with Tom Cleverley's effort being cancelled out by Marc Pugh.

SAVE! West Brom have seized the initiative here and are pushing for an opener. Gardner is in the thick of everything and another strike from the midfielder is tipped behind by Adrian for a corner. West Ham are on the ropes...

It's pouring down at The Hawthorns but it is making for quite the spectacle. West Ham need to get their creative players on the ball in West Brom's half because they are being forced back right now.

CHANCE! West Ham finally manage an effort on goal but it doesn't come close to beating Foster. Carroll got on the end of a cross from Lanzini but his header sailed over the crossbar.

CHANCE! There's no doubting that Gardner and Leko have been the two players of this match so far and they almost combined to put West Brom into the lead. Not for the first time, Leko got past Cresswell and although his cross found his teammate, he could not get his header on target. Encouraging signs regarding Leko though. He only turned 17 less than a week ago.

CHANCE! Much, much better from West Ham. A terrific move involving Payet and Lanzini ends with Cresswell crossing for Sakho but the forward is inches away from making the telling contact. It only needed a touch and West Ham would have been ahead.

We are half-an-hour through this match without a goal to speak of but the same cannot be said at Vicarage Road where Aston Villa are beating Watford! As it stands, West Brom will be moving above the Hornets.

Lanzini and Payet have switched flanks and it has had an immediate effect with the pair working together to set up Sakho, but his hot is deflected behind for a corner.

West Ham take the lead! They had improved over the past few minutes and they have got their rewards. After the Hammers regained possession after a corner was cleared, Payet received the ball before crossing for Kouyate who headed home past Foster. They probably don't deserve to be leading but Bilic won't care!

He's not in bad company...

Not a lot to talk about over the past few minutes. There has been a break in play while Leko has received some treatment but he should be fine to continue. West Brom fans will be very impressed with his contribution so far. It hasn't resulted in a goal but he is performing well above expectations.

There will be two minutes of added-on time.

Game over? West Brom do not deserve to be behind but they face an almighty struggle to get back into this game after a second West Ham goal from Noble. Kouyate found himself in a crossing position to turn provider for his midfield teammate, who managed to meet the ball and poke it past Foster.

The half-time whistle goes at The Hawthorns and West Ham are well on their way to securing the first of four wins that would be enough to guarantee a place in the Europa League next season. They started slow but goals from Kouyate and Noble could have put this game out of the reach of their hosts.

The Baggies get us back underway. No changes for either side.

As it stands, West Ham are moving ahead of Manchester United and into fifth place. United host Premier League leaders Leicester City tomorrow afternoon.

Like in the first half, the action has been pretty uneventful since kickoff. Jonas Olsson has been down receiving treatment but he is back on his feet.

West Brom did superbly to fight back against Spurs but I think this comeback may be too much for them. Leko concedes a free kick on the edge of the area but McAuley manages to head away Payet's threatening delivery.

Cresswell had struggled to get to grips with Leko in the first half but the left-back is ensuring that the youngster is having to his fair share of defending this half. After finding himself in a position to cross, he found Carroll at the back post but the target man could not get his effort on target or find another teammate.

It's West Brom's turn to pose a threat inside the final third but Ogbonna does enough to ensure that Rondon doesn't get any joy from a cross intended for him. Wonder how long it will be until we see the likes of Berahino and Sessegnon?

SUBSTITUTIONS! Pulis had had enough and makes two alterations with Berahino and Sandro replacing McClean and Yacob. I was half right!

We don't want to turn this into a game of predicting changes but it would come as no surprise if Bilic freshens up his side sooner rather than later. They are comfortable but he will want to see this game out without offering West Brom any encouragement.

CHANCE! Berahino has struggled for goals all season and he misses out here when provided with a decent chance inside the penalty area. He should have at least hit the target. Emenike is on for Sakho.

SHOT! Is this a sign that West Brom are getting desperate? Sandro tries his luck from distance but like many of his shots, it did not test the goalkeeper. Twenty minutes remaining in the West Midlands - West Brom need a goal and fast.

West Brom are having most of the ball but they are not doing a whole lot with it. West Ham still look comfortable and are on their way to what could prove to be a hugely significant win.

The game was beginning to peter out to some extent but West Ham have guaranteed all three points with an excellent third. After receiving a pass from Payet, Carroll sent in a cross for Noble to rifle a volley into the roof of the net. How good as Noble been this season?

SUBSTITUTION! Bilic takes the opportunity to replace Payet with Moses. It's been another influential performance from the French maestro.

SUBSTITUTION! This game is effectively done and dusted and Reece Oxford is given some more first-team minutes in place of Lanzini.

There will be three minutes of added-on time. The referee may as well blow up now!

The full-time whistle goes at The Hawthorns and West Ham move into fifth with a comfortable win over West Brom. It was the home side who dominated the opening exchanges but they failed to make their chances count and West Ham capitalised. The Hammers are three wins away from guarantee a place in Europe next season.

That will be all from Sports Mole for this match but we hope that you can stick around for all of the reports and reaction from this game and the others taking place in the Premier League this afternoon. Goodbye for now.