Slaven Bilić is calculating a balance between rest and respect as Albion’s FA Cup campaign opens at Charlton on Sunday.
The third-round tie follows a stamina-sapping four games in 12 days that Slaven says has left him assessing fatigue against the need to send out as competitive a team as possible against a fellow Sky Bet Championship outfit.
Albion will be without full-backs Nathan Ferguson and Kieran Gibbs, who was today having a scan on a hamstring injury, and Grady Diangana.
The on-loan West Ham winger is expected to be fit for the league game at The Valley which goes ahead the following weekend.
But Slaven is also mindful of the toll the recent League schedule has taken on his squad.
He said: “We have to consider the fatigue within the squad, not just physically but mentally, after so many games in such a short space of time.
“We have to strike a balance between changes and respecting the competition. Everybody is looking forward to it; everybody wants to be part of it and everybody wants to have a good run.
“Basically we will try to field a competitive team with chances to progress and at the same time rest some players.”
