James Morrison says his team will head to Pride Park with plenty of confidence on Wednesday night, but knows Derby County will pose a dangerous threat on home soil.
The Rams finished narrowly outside the play-offs last season but have had a tricky start to the new term, with a transfer deadline-day victory at Portsmouth their only win so far.
John Eustace’s side were beaten by Swansea in their last home match at the end of August and drew with Cardiff at Pride Park the weekend prior, so the Baggies are well aware of how determined everyone associated with Wednesday’s hosts will be for that first home success of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Albion are searching for back-to-back wins after securing a 1-0 victory and their first clean sheet against Watford last time out.
“We’ve made a positive start,” Morrison said. “I’ve been happy with the performances and how hard the players have worked and conducted themselves.
“It’s a team of what I like to see and what I like to watch.
“We’ve played right until the end of games and always kept pushing. We’ve had to tweak a few things after certain games but overall, they’re taking in information and we’re all together with some belief behind us.
“We can take confidence from our first clean sheet on Saturday, but we want another one on Wednesday. Our availability is good, but Mikey Johnston is still unavailable. We’re fully fit otherwise.
“I want everyone to play a part because this is our third consecutive week with three matches in it. Physically, we’re in a really good place, which is a credit to the medical team and the coaches for getting that right.
“As head coach, I’ve got to pick the best team to win each game, but also the best team to hurt the opposition, all while keeping that continuity going and not getting the squad too disjointed by having some players playing loads of minutes and others not as involved.
“Having almost everyone available is a blessing – I just have to find that balance.
“Derby are a very physical side. There will be long balls and crosses into the box. They’re still looking to properly get going because they had such a good season last time.
“They’ve only won one game so far and I know the manager, their players and their fans will be determined to start winning games more frequently, just as they did last season. They'll know they are capable of it.
“They’ll make it really tough for us and we need to be ready to stand up to their challenge. We’re confident and in a good place, so hopefully we can build on that even more on Wednesday.”
