Meet the opposition | West Bromwich Albion

As Swansea City get set to kick-off 2026 by hosting West Bromwich Albion, we take a closer look at the Baggies.

What's their story?

Established in 1878 as West Bromwich Albion by workers from Salter’s Spring Works, the Baggies were one of the 12 founding members of the Football League and have surpassed 5,000 EFL fixtures as a club.

Albion have spent much of their history in the top-flight of English football, winning their only league title during the 1919-20 season, whilst enjoying success in the FA Cup on no less than five occasions.

During the 21st century they have had spells in the Premier League, including an eight-year stint which was ended by relegation in 2018.

Six managers in six seasons followed and a return to the top-flight in 2020 proved short lived as they dropped back to the second tier after one season.

Last season the Baggies recorded a ninth place finish in the Championship, just four points behind sixth placed Bristol City.

How's their form?

Patchy. A lack of consistency has hampered the Baggies this season, and this is underlined by the face they have won two of their last six games, but lost the other four.

Of their eight league wins this season, three of them have come away from home.

Who's the gaffer?

Ryan Mason. The 34-year-old is embarking in first permanent head coach role after joining the club in the summer.

The former midfielder began his career at Tottenham Hotspur, joining the club at the age of eight. During his time in north London, he gained valuable experience out on loan with Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, Lorient and Swindon Town.

Mason moved to Hull City in 2016, but his playing career was sadly cut short after he suffered a fractured skull in a league match against Chelsea in 2017.

He returned to Spurs soon after, initially joining the academy coaching set-up and later being appointed manager of the club’s under-19s for the 2019 UEFA Youth League campaign.

Mason earned his first taste of senior management in 2021 when he was named interim head coach following José Mourinho’s departure, becoming the youngest manager in Premier League history. He stepped into the interim role again in 2023 after Cristian Stellini’s exit, before joining Ange Postecoglou’s coaching staff that summer.

After two seasons as part of Postecoglou’s backroom team, Mason was appointed Baggies manager in June.

Who's the captain?

Jed Wallace. The former Millwall midfielder has been a regular since his arrival at The Hawthorns, although he has been sidelined for just under three months with a calf injury, with the likes of Chris Mepham and Alex Mowatt wearing the armband in his absence.

Wallace came through the youth ranks at Portsmouth and progressed all the way to first-team level, where he scored 30 goals in 121 appearances in all competitions.

From the south-coast he went to Wolves, where he spent two seasons before his move to Millwall, having already enjoyed two successful loan spells with the London club.

Having already helped them win the League One play-offs, he continued to be an integral and influential figure in the Championship, regularly being a reliable contributor in terms of goals and assists.

However, his spell in south London ended when he moved to West Brom after his contract expired.

Wallace has made over 125 league appearances for the Baggies scoring 14 times, most recently scoring in West Brom’s 3-1 victory over Wrexham back in August. 

Who are the key men?

One of the Baggies’ biggest creative sparks this season has been Irish midfielder Mikey Johnston, who has registered eight assists at The Hawthorns and added two goals of his own.

Johnston was born in Glasgow and began his career at boyhood club Celtic, progressing through the academy before making his senior debut at 18 in a 4–1 victory over St Johnstone in May 2017.

The midfielder had two loan spells during his time in Scotland, including a move to Portuguese side Vitória Guimarães SC in 2022, where he made 25 league appearances and scored once.

He then returned to Celtic for the first half of the 2023–24 season, before another loan move followed as he joined West Brom in February 2024. Johnston hit the ground running, scoring his first goal just 30 seconds into his first start against Cardiff City. He made 18 league appearances during his initial spell at the club, scoring seven times and winning the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for March 2024, before joining the Baggies on a permanent basis the following summer.

Johnston also represented Scotland at youth level, but qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland through his grandad and was picked by Ireland manager Stephen Kenny for the first time in March 2023. The midfielder scored his first goal for his country that following June, netting in a EURO 2024 qualifier against Gibraltar.

Isaac Price is enjoying his first full season at The Hawthorns after joining West Bromwich Albion 12 months ago.

A product of the Everton academy, which he joined at the age of seven, Price made two senior appearances for the Toffees. Both those came via  substitute outings: first against Boreham Wood in the FA Cup in March 2022, before featuring for the final 12 minutes of a 5–1 defeat to Arsenal on the final day of the Premier League season.

The midfielder then left England to make his first move away from Everton, joining Belgian side Standard Liège. He went on to make 50 league appearances for Les Rouches across a season and a half, with his only goal coming via a dramatic last-minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Club Brugge in October 2023.

He went on to make the move to the west Midlands last January.

Price is also a Northern Ireland international, having also been eligible to represent Germany and England. He has so far earned 28 senior caps, scoring 10 goals, most recently finding the net in a 3–1 defeat to Germany in September.

Forward Aune Heggebø has been in a rich vein of form at The Hawthorns, scoring seven goals in his last nine league matches, including a brace against the Swans in November.

The Norway international began his career with SK Brann in 2018, going on to score 27 goals in 91 league appearances. That total included seven goals in 13 Eliteserien matches during the March-to-November season, before he joined Albion in July.

Heggebø has represented Norway at under-18, under-20 and under-21 levels, and received his first senior call-up in November. He made his senior international debut in an 11–1 victory over Moldova in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.