Valerien Ismael's West Brom kick off their Championship campaign on Friday night, with a visit to the south coast to face Scott Parker's AFC Bournemouth. 

The Baggies will be hoping to mount a promotion push this upcoming campaign, but face a tough test against a Bournemouth side who will aspirations of reaching the higher division too.

Ismael has made three new additions to his squad for the 2021/22 season, with Alex Mowatt following his boss from Yorkshire, whilst Matt Clarke and Adam Reach have also arrived at The Hawthorns.

Not only is the visit to Bournemouth the opening game for The Baggies, but it is the opening game of the entire Championship season.

Here, we take a look at how West Brom could possibly line up against The Cherries on Friday.

Early on in pre-season, Valerien Ismael admitted that he expected to lose Sam Johnstone this summer. The 28-year-old has since returned to training and the former Barnsley boss has been impressed with his professionalism, but stated that he is not ready yet.

The opens up an opportunity for David Button, who is vastly experienced at Championship level and provides a competent enough option in Johnstone's absence.

Button featured in the Premier League last season for The Baggies, albeit, it was one game, but he certainly has the ability at second-tier level, as he has displayed over the years.

Darnell Furlong will most likely get the nod at right wing-back. The flying full-back has been a regular at West Brom over the past couple of seasons and thrives from a slightly more attack-minded position.

Over the past couple of years, Furlong has featured 59 times in the league, playing a big part in West Brom's 2019/20 promotion, and he will be hoping to reach those levels once more.

The 25-year-old is a real attacking threat but he is also an assured and confident defender, who will ensure his defensive responsibilities are fulfilled before joining in the attacks.

The Baggies do have several strong candidates for this role but Dara O'Shea just about edges it.

O'Shea is a very promising central defender who proved to be a competent option in the Premier League last time out.

He is still developing from a physical perspective, but has shown to be aerially dominant and strong in the tackle, whilst also being a technically-gifted centre-back who is comfortable with playing it out from the back.

At 22 years old, O'Shea is only going to get better this season. He has all the tools, he just needs the manager to keep putting his faith in him.

Kyle Bartley has been an integral member of West Brom since his arrival in 2018 and he has since amassed just shy of 100 appearances for The Baggies.

He played a massive role in the club's promotion during the 2019/20 campaign, and despite a tough year in the Premier League last season, he will certainly be key again for this upcoming campaign.

Bartley brings experience and leadership to a very young defensive back-line and has the technical ability to match his physicality.

Bartley will need to be as influential as he was during the promotion-winning season two years ago with the aspirations that the club have.

New signing Matt Clarke is likely to taste league football as a West Brom player for the first time on Friday.

The left-footed central defender has enjoyed two successful seasons with Derby County from a personal perspective, and despite The Rams' troubles last season, they still possessed a comparatively strong defensive record.

The on loan Brighton & Hove Albion man, like his defensive counterparts, is very comfortable in possession and always looks for a pass into feet.

He is also a big physical presence and is an athletic option too. Clarke has proved himself at various stages of the EFL. It is now about making the step up to what is expected to be a promotion push.

Conor Townsend should be given the opportunity to impress on Friday.

The 28-year-old is a highly-energetic full-back, who like Furlong, will ensure that his defensive responsibilities are fulfilled first, before joining the attack.

He also has a wand of a left foot and with the attacking talent that the club possess, he is a real danger from wide areas.

Townsend might be provided with a little bit more competition now that Adam Reach has joined the club, however, the 28-year-old will certainly be given a long enough chance whilst the signing from Sheffield Wednesday gets up to speed.

Another new signing in Alex Mowatt should be given the green light to start on Friday. The 26-year-old has followed Ismael to The Baggies from Barnsley and also possesses a wand of left foot.

Mowatt has proved to be a real creative spark for The Tykes from relatively deep midfield positions, with his excellent range of passing making him a very exciting player.

Mowatt also proved to be a real leader for Barnsley last season, guiding the club to an expected fifth-place finish last time out.

Should he be on set pieces, Mowatt is such threat from dead-ball scenarios, and given the responsibility, he will undoubtedly cause problems from corners and free-kicks.

It will be intriguing who gets the nod between Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers, but the former just about edges it. Livermore has been a main-stay in The Baggies line up for many years now and this certainly could be the case again.

Livermore is a vastly experienced player at Championship level and beyond, and will surely play a big part in West Brom's expected promotion bid this season.

He is a player who keeps things simple in midfield, whilst possessing the intelligence to rule the middle of the park. He will certainly thrive off playing with a creative player like Mowatt.

Starting on the right wing is Grady Diangana in this predicted line up.

He offers pace, creativity, excellent technical ability, and he is expected light up the Championship once more after a season in the Premier League where he ultimately struggled.

Dianagna netted once and failed to provide a single assist last time out, but the season prior, he scored eight and assisted seven.

He has enjoyed a good pre-season and he can definitely go on to have a brilliant campaign this time around, adding goals and assist back to his game.

Callum Robinson just about edges the newly-formed striker in Matt Phillips to the starting striker spot in this predicted line up.

Robinson's electric pace and tendency to operate on the shoulder of the last defender when playing as a centre-forward makes him a very exciting player for West Brom to possess.

Phillips has provided some competition for the number 9 role, but Robinson should just about make it come Friday.

Robinson's versatility means that if not selected as a striker, he could operate elsewhere on the pitch, but he was predominantly used as a number 9 last time out.

Similar to Robinson, Karlan Grant is a versatile option for Valerien Ismael and could quite easily fill another role, but he has spent a lot of pre-season, and a fair chunk of the promotion-winning campaign, at left-wing.

Like the other two forwards mentioned in this time, he has pace, and he also has the ability to beat a man. Grant also has the end-product to match, making him a very difficult player to predict.

In an Ismael-led side, it is expected that Grant won't be just hugging the touchline. He is likely to play close to the starting striker, allowing him demonstrate how clinical he is in front of goal