Albion boss Tony Mowbray believes match practice is vital for Premier League preparations as he takes his side into their first English run-out at Shrewsbury tonight.
The Baggies begin a lengthy schedule of domestic warm-up games with back-to-back fixtures tonight and tomorrow.
After using his whole touring squad in the two matches in Germany last week, Mowbray plans to give his players more time on the field at Shrewsbury tonight and Cheltenham tomorrow.
He said: “We used all 20 outfield players on Wednesday against Borussia Monchengladback and we did the same thing against Cologne on Saturday.
“We will split into two teams for the two games this week. We will take 20 players when we go to play Ipswich and Northampton next week.
“It is different from last season. We have already spoken to the players about demands that are going to be different.
“Last season we had lots of the ball, dominated matches and we pressed in each game.
“The demands are different this year. Game practice is very important for getting totally new ideas into their heads.”
Neither of Mowbray’s new signings, Marek Cech and Scott Carson, are included in tonight’s squad, while fellow new-boy Gianni Zuiverloon is away with Holland’s Olympics squad.
Shrews boss Paul Simpson is still looking forward to the evening.
He said: “It’s a really good game for us and it will be a good test for the players. Hopefully they will respond to it and get something out of it.
“They are a Premier League side and it is a good challenge for our players.”
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