Albion’s position at the bottom of the table last season means that they have to play in the first round of the EFL Cup, while both Stoke and Swansea received a bye into the second round along with all Premier League clubs, and the Baggies have been drawn against Luton Town at the Hawthorns.
After a first half in which they were second best but managed to escape on level terms, the Baggies were much better in the second half but still contrived to keep Norwich in the game right up until the end.
After escaping from the City Ground with a scarcely deserved point, but which nonetheless could easily have been three, Darren Moore takes his side to Carrow Road with at least the comfort that they are off the mark.
Albion were second best at the City Ground for much of the game but came away with a valuable point, and could even have won it having struck the woodwork three times in the last ten minutes.
After a disappointing opening day defeat at home to Bolton Wanderers, Darren Moore’s men face a tough test in their first televised fixture of the season as they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but have a new face in the shape of Dwight Gayle to offer hope of a change in fortune.
This season, I’ve chosen to compare the current season to Albion’s campaigns in the second tier over the past 19 years, since Gary Megson led the Baggies into the Division One play-offs for the first time.