This article is part of Football FanCast's The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more... 

West Bromwich Albion return to league action this weekend as they host Sheffield Wednesday at the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon.

The Championship has been off for two weeks due to the international break but now it's back as we enter a very hectic festive period, where Slaven Bilic's men will be looking to enter the New Year still atop the league's summit.

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This weekend presents a very difficult test for a couple of reasons, the Owls are chasing promotion too even despite their EFL charge, and the Baggies will be without two of their most influential players - captain Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers.

Both will serve a one-match suspension after accumulating five yellow cards this season, leaving the Croatian chief with a tough decision on who will replace them.

On the Chalkboard

Sawyers, who returned to his boyhood club in the summer, has played every single minute of every single Championship game this campaign so his presence is sure to be harshly felt considering the Midlands club have lost just once to date.

This is reinforced when delving into his numbers for the season - the 28-year-old has a 91.8% passing accuracy rate while averaging a huge 69.9 passes per game, which is the most of any non-defender in the division, via WhoScored.

The midfield department at the Hawthorns is probably the weakest of all positions, but there is one man, in particular, that is an ideal like-for-like replacement, at least for this sole game.

Filip Krovinovic is usually a number ten, but having lost his place to Matheus Pereira, he may find life as a number eight in the engine room of midfield.

He certainly possesses similar qualities having joined on loan from Primeira Liga giants Benfica - across his career to date, the Croatian playmaker averages a passing success rate of 88.1%, which stands him in good stead for this role.

The Express & Star claim the 24-year-old stunned during pre-season with an impressive range of passing while his manager believes he has the ability to get supporters off their seats.

This certainly the £4.5m-rated midfielder (Transfermarkt valuation) seem like the perfect replacement for a short-term fix, and who knows, if he impresses, then he could well regain his starting spot back.

He'll be hungry to do so.