West Bromwich Albion are preparing for life back in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League last term.

The Baggies' long-awaited return to the top-flight was very much short-lived, with their 2020/21 season culminating in Sam Allardyce's departure and relegation straight back down to the Championship.

But there is reason to be optimistic heading into next season if you are an Albion supporter, with Valerien Ismael taking the reins at the Hawthorns and bringing Alex Mowatt with him.

Albion, with the squad they have on paper, will undoubtedly be one of the favourites to win promotion from the Championship in 2021/22, and that will obviously be the ultimate aim.

There will be some clubs pushing them all the way, though, with the likes of Fulham, Sheffield United, Swansea and Nottingham Forest all looking to fight for Premier League football too.

Albion have struggled against some of those teams in recent years, but what about players? Here, we take a look at 10 players West Brom have seemed to hate playing against in recent years...

Defoe may now be playing in Scotland for Rangers, but he is widely known for his spells with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth.

The experienced striker played against West Brom on 23 occasions, scoring eight goals against the Baggies as well as registering two assists.

Seven of those eight strikes came in a Tottenham shirt, whilst his other strike came in a West Ham shirt in 2003/04 - a 4-3 win for Albion.

One of Liverpool's greatest players of all-time, Dalglish also enjoyed plenty of success against the Baggies.

The three-time European Cup winner with the Reds also scored eight goals against West Brom throughout his career.

Dalglish played against West Brom on only 17 occasions, though, with four of those goals coming at the Hawthorns and the other four coming at Anfield.

One of Albion's former players actually features on this list.

Giles came through the ranks at Manchester United as a youngster before eventually breaking into the Red Devils' first-team.

Giles spent seven years at Old Trafford before leaving for Leeds United and then West Brom, making 75 appearances for the Baggies.

He featured against them on 13 occasions, scoring eight goals against them.

Whilst Giles may not be too well known to the younger generation of Albion supporters, this man certainly will be.

Aguero left Manchester City at the end of last season to join FC Barcelona, leaving the Etihad having scored 260 goals in 390 appearances for City.

8 of those goals came against West Brom, featuring against the Baggies on 12 occasions.

Perhaps his best performance against the Baggies came in April 2012, though, where he scored two goals and set up another two in a resounding 4-0 home win for Roberto Mancini's side.

Another legendary Premier League striker makes this list.

Drogba joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, going on to spend eight years at Stamford Bridge before returning in 2014.

The Ivorian made 381 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 164 times, with 8 of those goals coming against West Brom.

Drogba's record against Albion was pretty impressive, too, scoring 8 goals in only 10 games.

His last club was Arizona United, and is now retired.

Rounding off the list of 8-goal forwards is Roger Hunt.

Hunt spent 11 years at Liverpool and was the club's record goalscorer before his tally was surpassed by Ian Rush.

Hunt scored 286 games in a Liverpool shirt during a 11-year stay at Anfield, before he moved to Bolton in 1969.

The striker played against Albion 17 times over the course of his career, finding the net 8 times.

The man currently leading England's Euro 2020 charge has also been in fine form against Albion in his career, too.

Kane has played against Albion 9 times, scoring 9 goals. Prolific as ever from the England captain, who has scored 221 goals in 336 games for Tottenham Hotspur.

Kane has only lost one game against West Brom, too, winning four times and drawing on four occasions.

He scored in both the home and away fixtures in the 2020/21 season, in 1-0 and 2-0 wins for Spurs.

Robbie Keane has also enjoyed plenty of good times against the Baggies.

The former Republic of Ireland international played for the likes of Wolves, Liverpool and Leeds in his lengthy career, however most of his games came at Spurs.

In 12 matches against West Brom, Keane scored 9 goals, with his most recent strikes against the Baggies coming in a 3-0 win for Liverpool in November 2008 where he scored a brace.

Moving onto double figures now, and Denis Law caused plenty of heartache for Albion supporters.

Law, 81, won six major trophies with Manchester United during a memorable 11 year stay at Old Trafford, before leaving for arch rivals Manchester City in 1973.

Law played against West Brom 9 times, scoring an impressive 10 goals. That's an average of just over a goal every game.

Law actually made his debut for United against West Brom in 1962, scoring with only seven minutes on the clock.

We end on another Manchester United legend. The player who West Brom have statistically feared the most over the years is George Best.

Best spent most of his club career at United, making 470 appearances for the Red Devils and scoring 179 goals.

He featured against Albion on 14 occasions, scoring an impressive 11 goals.

Best won five major honours during his time at Old Trafford, including a European Cup in 1968.

He sadly passed away in 2005, aged 59.