Boro's Wild Thing the man on Teeside
Having been appointed Middlesbrough manager November, Chris Wilder was quickly hailed the Teeside Messiah through a combination of strong home league performances and cup triumphs over Premier League giants Tottenham and Manchester United.
Boro were unable to maintain this form late in the season, and ended up finishing 7th, five points outside the play-offs, after January loan signings Aaron Connolly and Florian Balogun failed to deliver the goals needed to fire them back to the top flight.
Optimism is high for this season though, with Wilder's side expected to serve it up to the relegated Premier League teams on account of the manager's track record, and some shrewd acquisitions in Darragh Lenihan and Ryan Giles from Blackburn and Wolves respectively.
There is no denying that there is more work to be done in the transfer market, especially with rumours circling that Marcus Tavernier could be on his way to Bournemouth, but the addition of striker Brentford Marcus Forss this week goes some way to ease the fears that Wilder's side are going into the season half-baked.
Bruce on borrowed time at Baggies?
Steve Bruce also took on his job midway through last season, but he did little to persuade Baggies fans that he was the man to take them forward with just five wins in 16 games.
Many assumed that the end of the season would see both parties walking away from the 18 month contract, but the club have reaffirmed their faith in Bruce being the man to lead them back to the Premier League.
In spite of uncertainty over Bruce's suitability, there is pre-season optimism at The Hawthorns given the transfer business this summer.
In John Swift and Jed Wallace they have brought in the two players who averaged the most key passes per game in the Championship last season, and with Daryl Dike back from injury there are plenty of reasons to think WBA might have the most potent attacking unit in the league.
Given the strength of the squad, expectations are rightfully high and Bruce will be desperate for a fast start, knowing full well that he will be afforded less time in the stands than a new manager given the grumblings of discontent at the back end of last season.
Opening day jitters
Middlesbrough 2.26/5 come into this one as favourites, which should be no surprise given they have lost just one of their last eight league matches against West Bromwich Albion (W4 D3).
They do not, however, tend to fare well on opening day, having won their first league match in just two of the last 21 seasons (D10 L9).
WBA 3.39/4 have a similarly poor record, having won their opening league game in just two of their last 11 second tier seasons (D4 L5). Boss Steve Bruce, on the other hand is used to getting off to a flyer.
He has won the opening league match of the season in five of his last six campaigns at this level, and drew the other.
Jed set for dream debut
Having played much of his football through the middle in recent seasons at Millwall, summer signing Jed Wallace looks set to play as a geuine wide man for WBA, tasked with using his pace to get to the byline and then his creative quality to provide the ammunition for Dike and strike partner Karlan Grant.
Expect a supply line of Swift through to Wallace, who'll then be expected to deliver crosses into the box. This could be a potent threat on Saturday, especially with Middlesbrough likely to set up with a high defensive line.
Wallace amassed 12 assists last season, at a rate better than one every three games, and is a goal threat in his own right with 27 Championship goals in the last three seasons.
The 2.8815/8 that Wallace scores or assists for his new club on debut looks a fair price in a game where the home team look a touch short to get all three points.
If you want to boost your odds head to the BetBuilder on the Sportsbook where just over 6.05/1 is available for Jed Wallace to assist, WBA or draw double chance and Over 2.5 goals.