Albion will arrive at Ipswich with boss Roberto Di Matteo bracing his troops for a mid-season marathon.

The Championship clash at Portman Road tonight begins a sequence of nine League and Cup matches in 33 days, before the end of February and the number could rise to 10 with an FA Cup replay.

Di Matteo has admitted that the hectic schedule is set to test his squad to the limit.

But the Baggies head coach believes the momentum created by their back-to-back meetings with Newcastle will send them to Suffolk in high spirits.

He said: “The games are coming thick and fast at the moment. We’ve got four games now and 12 days and that is going to put a lot of demands on the players. We will have to try to manage them as best as we can to get the best out of the players.

“It’s like a marathon and it’s difficult. I’ve experienced it myself as a player. It’s tough to be playing every three days. We played very well against Newcastle away and with a bit of luck we could have won that one as well.

“In the cup we were very good and deservedly won against Newcastle, so let’s hope we can keep this momentum. Winning in the Cup was important, because every win boosts your confidence and your belief that the things you’re doing are right.

“Let’s hope we can carry that on into the league.”

Di Matteo named an unchanged team for the 4-2 FA Cup win over Newcastle, after his side earned a 2-2 draw in the Championship meeting at St James’ Park, but he has admitted he will need to utilise his squad to ensure the best possible points return in the period ahead.

However, the Baggies boss is wary about planning his team changes too far ahead.

He said: “I thought the team played well on Monday and we played the same opposition on Saturday, so I thought we’d keep the same team because they got a lot of confidence out of the first game.

“We’ve also got a bit more experience in that team but we will have to review it, because it’s impossible to sustain it over so many games so there we will have to rotate. I will review it after every game and see how the players are. I will see who is okay and who isn’t, who is a bit drained and who isn’t as sharp as they should be.

“We’ll take it from there. I’ve looked ahead to games in the past and decided to rest one or two and play a certain team in the following game. But what happens is you don’t do well in the first game and then those players you rested don’t do well in the second game, so you lose out twice.

“I prefer focusing on the next game and trying to get the best out of the team, then I’ll worry about the game after that.”

Di Matteo’s stance means an unchanged line-up for the third successive match is likely at Portman Road, with Jonas Olsson set to get the go-ahead to play despite ending Saturday’s win with a head wound.

Midfield duo Youssouf Mulumbu and Robert Koren, whose recall has coincided with the impressive displays against the Magpies, also look poised to start again against the Tractor Boys.

The Baggies boss said: “Jonas had to have three stitches on his forehead. We will have to protect him and put the bandage on, but he should be eligible. He’s the kind of person who is more than happy to play with a small injury.

“Youssouf did very well for us at the beginning of the season. He wasn’t out of the team because of bad performance, we just had somebody else that came on for him, did very well and stayed in the team. I told him he would get back into the team at some point – and that’s what happened.

“It’s the same with ‘Roko’. It wasn’t because I don’t like him that he was out of the team, it was because we were doing well the way we were playing at the time and he was injured. I’ve always rated him as a very good player. Obviously he wants to play week in, week out.

“At the moment he is in the team and is playing well.”

Albion will kick off at Portman Road tonight targeting a second win of the season over Roy Keane’s side, who have climbed the table slowly following a dismal start to the campaign.

Di Matteo has been impressed with the upturn in their fortunes.

He said: “I think Roy has managed to turn them around now. They’re a much better team now and at home they’re probably stronger than they are away. They’ve drawn a lot of games, which isn’t reflected in their position in the table.

“They could easily have won a few of those games.”

Keane’s men enter tonight’s game still smarting from their FA Cup defeat to League One Southampton on Saturday. But the Irishman is confident his team have improved since their 2-0 defeat at the Hawthorns in August.

He said: “I don’t think we gave our fans enough to shout about on Saturday. It was a reality check for us. But we have a chance to put that right against West Brom. It’s no coincidence that they are near the top of the table.

“They are very, very good in attacking positions, and they have a lot of pace in the right areas.

“But I think we have progressed over the last month or two, and this will be a chance to see how far we’ve come since we lost to them earlier in the season.

“We will have to be at our 100 per cent best, and yet even this might not be enough to win.”