Watch West Brom V Aston Villa Line-Ups, Preview, Picks 19th January 2013 West Brom boss Steve Clarke will check on the
fitness of a trio of players before finalising his side for Saturday
evening's Premier League derby with Aston Villa at The Hawthorns.
Midfielder Claudio Yacob
(hamstring) and strikers Shane Long (dead leg) and Marc-Antoine Fortune
(hamstring) will be assessed to see if they are ready to return after
recent spells on the sidelines.
But right-back Steven Reid will miss the game as a precaution after suffering a knock on the bone he fractured in his leg against Arsenal last month.
Aston Villa skipper Ron Vlaar is in contention to return to the side after a seven-week absence for the derby at West Brom.
The Dutch international defender has been sidelined with a calf injury but returned as an unused substitute against Southampton last weekend and has since put in a full week's training.
Left-back Joe Bennett is also available after a bout of flu and head coach Paul Lambert will check on the fitness of striker Darren Bent (knee). Winger Marc Albrighton and defender Chris Herd are still ruled out with foot injuries.
West Brom are stepping up their efforts to beat the elements after the West Midlands suffered some of the worst weather in the country, and extra staff were called in to help remove the heavy snowfall from the pitch, stands and immediate vicinity.
Mark Miles, Albion's head of facility operations and development, said: "We were fully aware that the adverse weather would be arriving during the past day or so.
"The under-soil heating has been on for several days, which is keeping the pitch temperature at 10 degrees Celsius.
"We are making concerted efforts to remove the heavy snowfall from in and around the stadium and this operation will continue Saturday morning."
