[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

As the whirring of hot fax machines heralds the last hour of the transfer window (though one could be forgiven for nursing the suspicion that Albion's business, such as it is, is done by semaphore) we contemplate an autumn ahead with the threadbare squad as is, save for the possible addition of right-back Pipa (whether that's Billie, Pied or Rowdy Roddy remains to be seen). But to give credit where it's due, the current team has taken its chances and eked out seven points from the first four matches of the season, with the opportunity to make it ten from five tomorrow as Huddersfield visit the Hawthorns.

Having won the corresponding encounter 1-0 in March, this is a chance to complete back-to-back wins against the Terriers for the first time since 1998, as a draw against Middlesbrough is the only thing that's kept them off the bottom of the table during an admittedly tough start that encompassed matches versus Norwich and Leicester, along with a less-than-ideal opening defeat at Plymouth. Nothing seems to be going right in front of goal for Huddersfield, whose 62 shots so far this season - the sixth-highest tally in the division - have yielded just two league goals, one of them put into his own net by a Boro defender off a corner. Albion, meanwhile, have been twice as vulnerable as any other team to headers in front of goal, conceding four so far, which might offer a glimmer of hope for the tallest outfield player in the UK - the 6 foot 9 inch Kyle Hudlin, who towers some 5 centimetres over comparative midget Peter Crouch - if Warnock feels inclined to give the under-used youngster a look in.

It's been five and a half years since the last Huddersfield victory at Albion, and few things would be more grindingly predictable than the visitors' conversion rate suddenly leaping from 3% up to 93% tomorrow; but hopefully, with goals coming thick and fast for the Baggies, we can get one more positive result in before the international break.