"They're men": What West Brom boss Slaven Bilic had to say about Garry Monk's Sheffield Wednesday ahead of Hawthorns clash

Wednesday have not beaten the Baggies for over 12 years but arrive in the Midlands with a clean bill of health and raring to go after what the Wednesday boss described as a ‘very successful’ international break.

The hosts will be without key midfield duo Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers as well as defender Nathan Ferguson, who all miss out through suspension.

“They’re a really good team,” Bilic said of the Owls. “They’re a proper team. They’re men. There are no kids in that team, they’re of a good age.

“They’re positive, they run, they engage. They make it very hard for you, that’s why they’re there [eighth in the table]. This is a difficult game not because of the players we’re missing, but because of the strength of the opponent.”

The Owls will be hoping to record what would be only their second win in six matches against a side that have lost only once in the Championship this season.

The clash will be the Croatian’s first match-up with Monk, who was sacked as Swansea boss a matter of days before their match against Bilic’s West Brom in December 2015.

“I was thinking about it the other day. Our first game against Swansea was with [Francesco] Guidolin, the Italian,” Bilic recalled.

“It was December. It was a couple of days ago I was thinking about it, and I was surprised that he’d been sacked in December. They started great, they beat Manchester United, I watched that game.

“Then, suddenly, you’re gone! It wasn’t him that day. This will be our first meeting.”