West Brom were beaten by Aston Villa in a massive West Midlands derby in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
The Baggies went in front when Dwight Gayle reacted quickly to a mistake in the Villa defence and slotted the ball home.
But Gayle was later sent off after Villa had hit back with two quickfire goals, with Tammy Abraham's penalty earning a 2-1 win.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Championship play-offs!
46 games of hard slog have all come down to this.
Two teams, Norwich and Sheffield United, will be playing Premier League football next season but who will be joining them?
Leeds, West Brom, Aston Villa and Derby all have a return to top flight football within their grasp.
Over the course of the next five sure to be thrilling and dramatic games we shall find out.
Let's get going.
We start the opening legs of the Championship play-off semi-finals with a tasty looking fixture at Villa Park.
Fierce West Midlands rivals Aston Villa and West Brom go head to head looking to put one foot into the final.
TEAM NEWS
First things first, the team news is in!
The hosts were sweating on the fitness of their star striker Tammy Abraham, who missed the final three games of the season due to a shoulder problem, but the big news is that he returns to the Villa starting line-up!
Jack Grealish and John McGinn both return too as the Villans name their strongest possible 11.
TEAM NEWS
The visitors welcome back Matt Phillips and Chris Brunt, Brunt having missed West Brom's final day defeat to Derby.
Forward Hal Robson-Kanu is a big absentee though, he starts a three-match suspension following his red card against Derby on Sunday.
Aston Villa's route to the play-offs
It's been an up and down season for Villa manager Dean Smith, who took charge of a disjointed Villans side in October, languishing down in 14th position.
Smith inspired a new manager boost as Villa fought their way back up the table until, with star man Jack Grealish out injured, a slide back down the table took shape.
Upon Grealish's return he was handed the captaincy by Smith and this proved an inspired move as Villa went on a club record run of 10 successive wins to eventually finish 5th on 76 points, four behind local rivals West Brom.
West Brom's route to the play-offs
Despite sacking Darren Moore in March, West Brom have enjoyed a good season consistently near the top of the table.
Caretaker boss Jimmy Shan will be feeling the heat today in the biggest match of his managerial career but he's been a calm presence on the touchline during his time in charge so far.
A reminder also that the Baggies beat Villa in February on route to finishing a strong fourth in the table.
Dean Smith has been speaking to Sky: “It’s a different Aston Villa now to the one that West Brom played in February.
"We’re in a really good run of form. Confidence is high but we know this is a tough game today. The players are ready and there’s a freshness about them. There’s certainly a lot of belief as well.”
James Shan, meanwhile, has been singing the praises of Chris Brunt and Matty Phillips who return to the starting line-up today: “Their level of experience is going to be key today, the quality both players provide for us.
"Chris has been a key player, he offers a lot, and Matty gives us so much going forward. And both players are key to our set-play delivery as well.”
Kick-off minutes away
Will this man have a big say in proceedings today?
We are moments away from kick-off at Villa Park and the atmosphere is building nicely!
KICK-OFF
We're underway at Villa Park and the atmosphere is fittingly electric!
ASTON VILLA 0-0 WEST BROM
4: Feisty start with a couple of meaty tackles going in from either side.
Villa win the first corner and the first chance falls to Whelan but he can't direct his header on target!
ASTON VILLA 0-0 WEST BROM
8: The hosts have had all of the possession so far in a bright start.
Nothing in the way of clear-cut chances yet though.
ASTON VILLA 0-0 WEST BROM
9: The visitors really haven't got going yet.
A loose ball just outside the box falls to Adomah and he jinks and jives past a defender but his attempted curler is fired nowhere near the goal.
ASTON VILLA 0-0 WEST BROM
SO CLOSE!
11: First real sign of intent from West Brom and it's Rodriguez who curls one towards the target.
Brilliant fingertips save from Steer tips the ball onto the bar!
ASTON VILLA 0-0 WEST BROM
14: West Brom haven't lost a fixture against Aston Villa since March 2015 and that Rodriguez effort has sparked them into life here!
GOAL! ASTON VILLA 0-1 WEST BROM (Gayle 16)
ASTON VILLA 0-1 WEST BROM
That really is poor!
West Brom had been bit by bit working their way into the contest and they are gifted the opening goal here by Whelan!
He sloppily loses the ball in just the wrong place which allows Gayle to run at the final Villa defender, open up his body and drill one into the bottom right hand corner of the net past Steer!
You cannot give any striker a gift like that.
Schoolboy error stuff.
ASTON VILLA 0-1 WEST BROM
21: West Brom very clearly set up on the counter, planning to absorb Villa pressure and then break just as they did when Gayle scored his 24th goal of the season after Whelan's attempted stab at the ball!
Can Villa now respond after a promising first 15 minutes?
Please allow a moment for the blog to load.
