Lewis Cox's predicted West Brom line-up for showdown at unbeaten leaders Boro
It will be interesting as to whether Ryan Mason opts to act on a first league defeat of the season when it comes to his selection at Middlesbrough.
The Baggies head coach has said he will not stick to the same XI merely because his side are winning - so how will he respond to a first Championship disappointment?
If there are alterations to his starting line-up in Teesside on Friday night it will not be solely down to last Saturday's home reverse to Derby.
Mason has stressed he will judge each fixture and make a call based on the challenges offered by the opposition - and how Albion can provide a threat themselves.
We are at an interesting juncture when it comes to the early stages of the 2025/26 campaign. Many of Albion's nine summer signings arrived later than the middle of August and as such are playing catch-up or getting more in-tune with their new team-mates.
That means we await first starts for several new recruits, including Toby Collyer, Alfie Gilchrist, Charlie Taylor, Sammy Iling-Junior and Krystian Bielik, the latter down to an injury he has now recovered from.
Mason will, one suspects, eventually find an opportunity to give players a chance from the start - though the likelihood is that will come in a couple of weeks when the fixture list heats up with midweek clashes.
I am struggling to see a raft of changes for a difficult looking away fixture at unbeaten leaders Middlesbrough.
