Afternoon all. So, it's one of the biggest days on the calender of English football - third-round FA Cup day! Here, we have a real David vs. Goliath battle as West Bromwich Albion of the Premier League play host to Football Conference side Gateshead at The Hawthorns. Do we have an upset on the cards?!

First of all, team news. Let's start with the home side...

WEST BROM XI: Myhill; Pocognoli, McAuley, Dawson, Baird; Morrison, Brunt, Dorrans, Sessegnon; Anichebe, Berahino

WEST BROM SUBS: Foster, Wisdom, Yacob, Mulumbu, Varela, Samaras, Ideye

Well, there is no danger of new West Brom boss Tony Pulis underestimating Gateshead. He's named a strong side, with the exception of goalkeeper Ben Foster, who has been rested and replaced by Boaz Myhill. Despite links with the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, Saido Berahino starts up front alongside Victor Anichebe, while James Morrison, Chris Brunt and Graham Dorrans are all included in the midfield.

And now for the visiting Conference side...

GATESHEAD XI: Bartlett; Baxter, Curtis, Clark, Jones; Pattison, Gjokaj, Turnbull, Oster, Rodman; Rankine

GATESHEAD SUBS: Allan, Chandler, Ramshaw, Guy, Shaw, J Wilson, Wright

One name you may well recognise in that Gateshead side is John Oster, who has previously played for the likes of Everton and Reading. Now 36, Oster will play in the heart of the midfield. Meanwhile, vice-captain and former England youth international Jamie Chandler is named among the substitutes,

And here are the Gateshead team warming up:

The players warming up in front of the Heed Army. pic.twitter.com/YGpJO8B3pA

— Gateshead FC (@GatesheadFC) January 3, 2015

So, what do we know about Gateshead? Well, they are currently 11th in the Conference, but have not won either of their last two league clashes. Prior to that, Gary Mills's men were unbeaten in their last four.

Right, the players are now in the tunnel at The Hawthorns. It won't be long until we are underway in the Black Country.

KICKOFF! Here we go then. Visiting Gateshead get us off and running. Incidentally, new Baggies boss Pulis is watching the first half from the stands.

SAVE! An early chance for Gateshead as West Brom midfielder Morrison brings down Rodman 20 yards from goal. The resultant free-kick is struck cleanly by Oster, but it's straight at Myhill, who collects with ease. Nonetheless, that's a positive start from the visitors.

The home side are certainly seeing plenty of the ball, but goalscoring chances are hard to come by at present. Having said that, moments ago Anichebe did lay the ball into the path of Berahino, but the England striker fired well over.

One player that is causing West Brom problems down the left hand side is Rodman. He may have only had possession of the ball twice, but on both occasions he's beaten two players and then been fouled. If Gateshead are to collect a positive result here, he could well be involved.

A potential knock-back for West Brom because as Anichebe sprinted after Berahino's through pass, he pulled up clutching his groin. He's still on the pitch right now, but is by no means moving freely.

CHANCE! Half an opening for the Conference side as Pattison's corner is flicked on by Gjokaj, but as Rankine looks to score, the ball ends up bobbling through to Myhill.

CHANCE! Lovely football from Gateshead and again Rodman is heavily involved. He skips beyond Morrison and then spreads the play with a low pass for Pattison, who cuts inside. He has options to cross, yet goes for goal, but it's easy for Myhill. After that, Pulis has seen enough and comes down to the touchline.

And Pulis is not happy with what he has seen so far. He's on the touchline and is barking out plenty of orders to his players. This obviously isn't the sort of start that he was after.

CHANCE! On this performance, Rodman will have some Football League clubs looking at him. In a central position, he pops the ball causally through the legs of Dorrans, but then drags his effort from 20 yards out a couple of yards wide. Right now, you wouldn't say that there was four divisions between these two sides. In fact, Gateshead look much the stronger of the teams.

Here is Steve Claridge, talking to BBC Sport, about Pulis's decision to come down to the touchline: "He's thought 'hold on a minute, if I can get down there on the touchline and up the tempo a bit, it's better than being sat up here'.

"He wants the players to push forward a bit more and show some more intensity and he probably feels he can get his point across better from the touchline."

For West Brom, it's strange that Anichebe is still out there. He's clearly not moving freely with what appears to be a groin complaint, yet he continues. A while ago Samaras looked ready to come on, but he has now sat back down on the bench.

CHANCE! The best chance of the match for Gateshead and Oster should really be working the goalkeeper at the very least. Pattison gets to the byline and cuts the ball back for the former Everton midfielder, but 12 yards from goal, he lifts his effort over. The angle may have been tight, but he should have done much better.

Such is Gateshead's domination, their supporters are meeting every pass with an 'Ole'! It's far too easy for them at the moment, but from their point of view, they do need a goal because surely West Brom will find form at some point.

"Premier League, you're having a laugh" is the latest chant from the Gateshead faithful. Meanwhile, there are some groans coming from the home supporters after one too many sideways passes in the midfield. If ever a team needed a goal, it's West Brom!

And there is that goal and it's so cruel on Gateshead, who do not deserve to be behind here. The Conference side struggle to clear a cross, with Rankine hacking the ball off the line. However, it drops to Berahino some 10 yards from goal and he lashes his effort into the roof of the net. That's some finish from the youngster, who shows why the likes of Liverpool are meant to be keen on his signature. West Brom are lucky, that's for sure!

There will be one minute of stoppage time at the end of this first half.

Football can be so unfair at times, can't it? Gateshead have been the best side by a long way for 40 minutes and yet they now trail 2-0. Berahino turns provider on this occasion as he drives into the Gateshead box with pace, before picking out Anichebe. The striker turns, commits Bartlett of his line and then pokes the ball into the bottom corner of the net. It shouldn't be the case, but that's arguably the tie over.

So, there goes the whistle for the break and it's the home side that somehow lead. They've been on the backfoot for much of the first half, but two late goals has left them with one foot in the fourth round.

They might be leading, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Pulis is giving a rollocking to his West Brom players. They struggled for 40 minutes and certainly did not play with the quality that you would expect from a Premier League side that is facing a Conference outfit. The goals, though, may change things and allow them to play with a bit of freedom after the restart - Pulis will certainly be hoping so.

Meanwhile, the Gateshead dressing room is likely to be a despondent one. They've played so well, yet are 2-0 down and seem to be heading out of the competition. They've just got to continue playing how they have been and hope that they can score early in the second half. If they can do that, the West Brom players are bound to become nervous again.

MATCH ACTION Before we get back underway, here is a shot of Berahino putting West Brom in front.

© Getty Images

RESTART! West Brom, who lead 2-0, get us back underway at The Hawthorns.

Well, that didn't take long, did it? It's tie over as Berahino is afforded far too much time 20 yards from goal and he bends the ball into the far corner of the Gateshead net. That's some finish, which has probably added another £5m on his price tag!

Credit to Gateshead because despite that third goal, they are still plugging away and seem determined to get themselves at least a goal from this contest - they deserve it.

SAVE! Very good stop from Gateshead keeper Bartlett, who gets down quickly at his near post to prevent Anichebe from scoring his second goal of the contest.

This is very harsh on Gateshead now, with Berahino completing his hat-trick. Brunt is the creator, getting the right byline and drilling in a cross, which the young striker diverts into the the far corner of the net. That's a very good finish. He doesn't look overly happy, though, it must be said. He's not celebrated any of his three goals, which will get transfer tongues wagging.

Oh dear! With 40 minutes played, this game was level at 0-0. Fifteen minutes later, it's 5-0. Samaras, who has just come on for Anichebe, plays in Brunt, who goes round the outrushing Bartlett, before rolling the ball into an empty net. Gateshead are sinking.

SUBS: A further chance for West Brom as Argentine midfielder Claudio Yacob replaces Dorrans, while Pattison has gone off for Gateshead, with Rob Ramshaw coming on.

GATESHEAD SUB: And now there is another change from the away side, with Gjokaj trudging off to be replaced by Chandler.

As you'd expect, the intensity of this tie has tied down massively. West Brom are keeping the ball with relative ease, while it's now damage limitation for Gateshead. They certainly do not want this ending up like a cricket score.

SUBS: Final change for both teams as Varela replaces Sessegnon, while Gateshead's leading goalscorer this season Danny Wright comes on for Rankine.

It's actually turned out to be a decent afternoon for Pulis, who waved to the fans before this contest got underway:

© Getty Images

SAVE! A rare positive moment for Gateshead in this second half as Rodman cuts inside the from the left and lashes goalwards, but Myhill is down quickly and effectively to hold the ball.

It's now 6-0 to the hosts as Morrison gets his name on the scoresheet. Samaras slips in Varela down the left flank and as the ball fizzes across the face of goal, Morrison is on hand at the back post to tap the ball in from a couple of yards out.

Praise from West Brom for the away fans, who have been fantastic:

The travelling @GatesheadFC fans have been superb this afternoon. No-one will leave The Hawthorns without #SuperHeedArmy in their heads. — West Bromwich Albion (@WBAFCofficial) January 3, 2015

SAVE! Very good reflexes from Bartlett, who denies West Brom a seventh goal as he tips Samaras's powerful effort behind. Then, from the resultant corner, Dawson just fails to make contact with the ball from a couple of yards out.

There will be two minutes of stoppage time at the end of this clash.

Pure class from Berahino, who caps a fine individual display by bending the ball into the far corner of the net. That was probably the best of his four goals.

There goes the whistle and after 40 minutes, you wouldn't have expected that scoreline! Still, the confidence flowed back into West Brom after their first goal and they ended up running riot. It's a special day for Berahino, who scored four times, but he didn't look overly happy it must be said. Perhaps there is something in all those transfer rumours?! We shall see.

That's all we have time for from The Hawthorns. Thanks for joining us this afternoon and until next time, goodbye.